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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197314">Riposte to Flick to Feint to Lunge</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dekompensation/pseuds/dekompensation'>dekompensation</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A bit of a rival dynamic as well, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Sports, Amity Blight Has a Crush, Amity is in denial (a bit), F/F, Fencing, Friends to Lovers, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Lumity, Oblivious Luz Noceda, Teammates to Friends, oh wow sports</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:28:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>52,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dekompensation/pseuds/dekompensation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span>[Lumity | Fencing AU]</span>
</p><p>At fourteen, Amity Blight is on her way to becoming a champion. The épée is her weapon, her passion, her only love. It’s an extension of her very body and soul. Fencing since the age of six, Amity will stop at nothing on her path to victory.
</p><p>So when Amity learns that a newbie is joining the Hexside fencing team, the brilliant athlete doesn’t pay it any heed. Even though she is tasked with tutoring the new girl, Amity doesn’t care. She doesn’t mind. And she most certainly doesn’t have a crush on her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Edric Blight/Jerbo, Emira Blight/Viney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>283</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>364</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitSweetChoc/gifts">BitSweetChoc</a>.</li>



    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amity Blight encounters a worthy opponent. Who is — coincidentally — a very cute girl. Naturally, Amity remains professional. (No, she doesn’t.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Warm-ups are important.</p><p>If you fail on your warm-up routine, you don’t only risk hurting yourself. Hurting yourself isn’t that bad. You might get a sprained ankle or pull a muscle, sure. But pain is your friend because pain reminds you to keep on fighting. It reminds you that you’re alive, and that you’re imperfect.</p><p>And imperfection is your own worst enemy, and your biggest motivation to improve.</p><p>No, it’s not about hurting yourself. Lack of proper warming-up can lead to failure. A split-second lost before the tip of the weapon touches your opponent — and the other lamp buzzes first. A millimetre which you miscalculate because your forearm fails the grip — and the other lamp buzzes first. A lunge where you open up too much because your shoulder mobility is weak — and the other lamp buzzes first. You lose a point.</p><p>And Amity Blight will <em> not </em>lose a point to anyone.</p><p>So she enters the gym earlier than the opening time, which gives her nineteen minutes and fifty seconds of blissful loneliness. Amity is not an amateur, so she would never start with jumping jacks or the treadmill. That’s a sure way to injury.</p><p>No, instead she puts her legs at shoulder length, bending down carefully, the pleasant burn in her hamstrings jolting her awake. At quarter-to-seven that’s just what she needs — because, unlike all the fake adults who attend this gym to get ripped or post pictures or whatever, she, Amity Blight, does not drink caffeine. </p><p>Neither does she eat before workouts. At fourteen, she needs to maintain early-puberty insulin levels to keep burning residue fat. And there’s definitely no liquid carbs, a.k.a. Gatorade, because that’s a sure way to build up some bulk, which will slow her down.</p><p>No, Amity grins to herself, speed metal music blasting in her ears (okay, <em> one notch </em>above the phone’s recommended level). No, she needs speed, she needs endurance, and she needs flexibility.</p><p>So the stretch turns into a split, and the teen reaches diligently towards each toe. Then she pulls up a stool — it’s only seven, the trainer won’t be here until eight — to sit down and stretch her hips and glutes. </p><p>No one is here at this hour, and Amity is thankful. She doesn’t like being around other people, doesn’t like to be objectified — which, surprisingly, remains a thing in a public gym. Unlike her fencing school, where everyone is athletic, so there’s no need to stare.</p><p>And yet, Amity does stare as the glass door flings open (<em>Who does that to doors, for real?</em>) and another teenage girl walks in. Her short hair is, for some reason, wrapped in a sweatband, and her outfit doesn’t exactly scream ‘I work out for Instagram’, so Amity might be feeling a tiny smidge of respect for the newcomer.</p><p>And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Amity has repressed lesbian urges and the girl in question is unbearably cute, her tan skin glistening with sweat as if she already ran a few miles before coming to the gym.</p><p>“Hi!” the newcomer says. Or, rather, that’s what Amity assumes she says, because Amity’s ears are filled with distorted guitars and hateful lyrics. </p><p><em> Who even greets other people in the gym? </em> Amity muses on one leg, already up and giving her quads a heel tug. But, before the girl can do something ridiculous like approach her and tap her shoulder, the young athlete pulls out her earbuds, letting them dangle around her neck. <em> Ha, true wireless my ass, these are the way to go. </em></p><p>“Hi,” Amity says, but the brunette doesn’t walk away, beaming at her radiantly. <em> People are not supposed to be this cheerful at seven a.m. Or, well, ever.  </em></p><p>“I’m Luz, I recently moved here,” the girl (<em>Luz</em>) announces, extending her (sweaty) hand.</p><p>“So did ten million other people,” Amity replies, deciding to omit the handshake. <em> Come on, Amity, be… amicable. </em>“I’m Amity,” she adds, hoping that maybe this social exchange can be over so that she can proceed to her psoas stretches in peace. </p><p>And yet, Luz does not seem like she’s about to leave. “So!” she announces with a wide grin, throwing her fist in the air like a moronic cartoon character. “Will you please show me around? Show me how the machines work?”</p><p>“Uh.” Amity is frozen mid-butterfly, her groin still not stretching properly. “The designated trainer will be here at eight.”</p><p>“Oh! I thought you were the trainer!” Luz exclaimed, giggling and placing her water bottle and towel in the corner. <em> No gatorade or coffee</em>, Amity observes with respect. </p><p>Meanwhile, Amity is up again, pulling back each finger carefully. “I am fourteen.” The forearms burn, but then again, they always do: strengthening her grip is the most crucial area she needs to work on — apart from keeping her quads strong and her hamstrings soft. </p><p>“So am I!”</p><p>No, humans should <em> not </em> be allowed to be this cheerful.</p><p>Hoping that the conversation has played out, Amity lies down on the floor to give her lower abdomen a stretch. Then again, her core does need strengthening, so she decides to smuggle a couple dead bugs and weighted extensions into today’s routine — which should otherwise be exclusively legs and cardio.</p><p>“So, what day is it today?” </p><p>Amity lifts her eyes to meet the stranger’s — Luz’s — expectant look. Apparently, this girl does <em> not </em> know when to drop a conversation. <em> Then again, she is too cute for her own good. Dammit, Amity, stop being weird! </em></p><p>“Uh, Wednesday?” Amity blinks, almost tripping over as she’s trying to reach her forehead with her toe. <em> Need to do more hip stability work. </em></p><p>The newcomer does not seem flustered or taken aback, as if there is a bubble around her that protects the girl from social cues and conversation prompts. Perhaps that is the reason behind the brunette’s bubbly attitude.</p><p>“No, I mean like you train in splits, right?” Luz clarifies, doing some simple compound arm stretches that don’t really stretch anything but give you an impression of a warm-up. “Like a bodybuilder? So what day is it today? Arm day? Back and shoulders? Legs? Ooooh, do you do push-and-pull?”</p><p>Now Amity does indeed trip over, pushed over by the barrage of words coming from Luz’s mouth. Or, perhaps, by the incredible shape of the girl’s shoulders. Like, seriously, who works out the front, the side, <em> and </em>the back delts? Luz does, and it’s nothing short of breathtaking. </p><p><em> Uh, it’s not my hip stability that needs improvement, </em> Amity thinks, getting up. <em> It’s my lesbian eyes that romanticise every pretty girl that exists.  </em></p><p>Then, in a second, Amity realises that she is holding Luz’s hand — because <em> of course </em>it was Luz who pulled her up — and almost falls again, only the brunette’s grip preventing her from another trip-and-fall.</p><p>“Uh, um, thanks,” Amity barely manages, attributing the blush on her cheeks to the warm-up routine. “I— yes, I do split training, but I’m a clean athlete, not a bodybuilder.”</p><p>“Right!” For some reason, Luz is still not letting go of Amity’s hand. Not that Amity minds. “I guess that’s why your body is so well-toned!”</p><p>With a tiny internal shriek, Amity frees up her hand and takes a step back, lest she freak out and run away. <em> Or freak out and kiss a total stranger. Jeez, Amity, get your shit together!  </em></p><p>At that moment, Amity realises that, if Luz is going to keep coming to the gym, she (Amity, that is) needs to hold against puberty and hormones and whatever is making her (Amity) a puddle of goo every time Luz just stares into her eyes like it’s the simplest thing in the world.</p><p>More training. That’s always Amity’s go-to answer. More training means less blushy faces and kissy daydreams. It’s not the first time Amity’s been infatuated with a girl, no. Amity is experienced with this sort of thing.</p><p>...Okay, it’s the second time Amity’s been infatuated with a girl, and the first time was like half a year ago, but Amity <em> got over it</em>, and that’s what really matters.</p><p>Amity will get over this in no time, because this is just a stranger whom she’ll probably just see in the gym from time to time and maybe exchange a couple of words with and Luz is most likely extremely straight and it’s not like Amity can stop being a flustered mess to have a relationship and, besides, all this hyperventilating is bad for her stamina, and a relationship is bad for her training, and there’s not gonna <em> be </em>a relationship because Luz won’t— </p><p>“Hey — Amity, right? — I was thinking maybe we could grab breakfast after the workout?”</p><p>—ask her out.</p><p>Amity stares blankly at the radiant girl in front of her, trying to remember how words work. <em> Okay, so first you take ‘yes’ and ‘sure’ and put them together. Because when a cute girl asks you to dinner, these are the only two words you need.  </em></p><p>“Sorry, I, uh, do intermittent fasting so I don’t really have breakfasts.”</p><p>
  <em> Goddammit, Amity, you had one job!  </em>
</p><p>And yet, Luz does not seem disheartened and merely nods in understanding — while Amity is trying her best not to let it show that she is a Beetroot pretending to be human, what with all the red in her face.</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay!” Luz finally takes her cue to skip gleefully towards the treadmills. “I mean, I pretty much had breakfast already, but after a workout I like to chug some more food, amirite?”</p><p>“Um, not everyone is gifted with supersonic metabolism,” Amity mumbles, but Luz has already taken out her earbuds (true wireless) and turned on the warm-up routine on the treadmill. </p><p><em> It’s better this way</em>, Amity thinks, letting out a breath. <em> Besides, </em> Amity thinks, taking her warm-up behind the Smith machine just to be away from the treadmills, <em> Luz was probably just being friendly. It’s not like she found me attractive and asked me out or anything. Just a friendly gesture. Neighbourly, even.  </em></p><p>Yes, it’s definitely better this way. Amity’s life is dumbbells and squats and elastic bands. It’s lunges and parries and endless dances on the piste. And, behind all this, there are classes, and all those TV series, and hang-outs with her teammates, her friends.</p><p>Amity’s life is rich and full, so it’s better if she never gets to know Luz. If she never goes out with her. Never talks to her at extended lengths. Because Luz might be a distraction.</p><p>And Amity will accept no distractions on her way to victory. </p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Amity’s fingers are so numb that she misdials the entry code to the apartment twice in a row, cursing Emira for even installing a lock like that in the first place. </p><p>
  <em> It’s just one of those days, isn’t it?  </em>
</p><p>The security guards at the entry took way too long to open the gate for her, leaving the teenager freezing in the winter cold. Not to mention that being in the cold after an intense (and extensive) workout isn’t the best way to treat your body.</p><p>So now Amity is cold <em> and </em>sweaty, and, as soon as she’s in, the girl kicks off her boots and tosses her winter cap away with a groan. Next goes the scarf, double-wrapped around her neck and chin. Finally, Amity takes off her thick woollen sweater, grunting as her disheveled hair gets stuck in the neck. </p><p>“Mittens, your grades are a bit down.”</p><p><em> Great timing, Emira. </em>Amity mumbles something incoherent through the sweater, then, with a sharp tug, manages to escape that boa-restrictor of a clothing item. “Hi, Emira, thanks for the warm welcome.”</p><p>“Sorry, Mittens.” The tall green-haired girl approaches Amity and takes the sweater from her. “You know how worried I am about you.”</p><p>Amity knows. Even though Edric and Emira are just sixteen, they are more than just her siblings and legal guardians. Even when their parents were still around, it was Em and Ed who took care of her while Mom and Dad paid their children no heed, always away or locked up in their studies, lost in the world of finance and oblivious to the world of family.</p><p>Now that the three Blights are on their own, Emira’s near-maternal care and Edric’s protective tendencies have intensified tremendously. <em> Why else would we live in a protected condominium where even the tenants can’t go in without going through the armed guards?  </em></p><p>“Just because you and Ed are legally emancipated,” Amity grumbles more for show than out of spite, “it doesn’t mean you get to lecture me. You’re barely adults yourselves.”</p><p>“Mittens, <em> you </em>were the one who told me to keep an eye on your grades.” Emira tucks the little sister in a powerful embrace, almost a stronghold, and Amity just huffs into her sister’s armpit. </p><p>
  <em> Ed and Em are just uncharacteristically tall, it’s not fair. How come the Twins won the genetic lottery and I’m… well, me?  </em>
</p><p>“Cut me some slack, Em, I train with the team five days a week and work out six times a week.” Amity liberates herself from the hug and grabs a pair of slippers. “School is the least of my concerns.”</p><p>“I know you want to go full-professional, but it’s still important to keep up good grades.” Emira moves over to the sofa that’s propped against the wall in its loneliness. <em> Honestly, with an apartment this size, we could’ve had three sofas, one for each sibling.  </em></p><p>“Look at me,” Emira carries on, but Amity doesn’t look at her because Amity is already rummaging through the kitchen shelves in search for protein cookies. <em> I swear if Edric ate my cookies—  </em></p><p>Then, the cookies finally reveal themselves to the youngest Blight, stashed behind the protein bars that Emira seems to enjoy over protein cookies (<em>what a simpleton choice</em>). Gleefully, Amity tears the wrapping and her teeth sink into the sugar-free treat. <em> Ah, the pure taste of chemically-engineered blandness and flavourings.  </em></p><p>“I thought I was gonna be into karate full-time—” Emira proceeds, and Amity is glad that the kitchen is part of the living room and she can hear her sister well; because at this point Amity will <em> not </em>leave her cookies unattended. “—but after my black belt I decided to go into IT. And who’s the most sought-after start-up now?”</p><p>“I dunno?” Amity grabs the second cookie because her daily intake is four, and it’s already half past two. The workout, <em> then </em>the run were exhausting, especially on an empty stomach. Then again, they always are. Burning lungs, racing heart, aching muscles: it all just pushes Amity forward.</p><p>“That weird app that puts stickers of wieners on photos of buns?” Amity suggests with a grin, knowing it would set Emira off track. <em> Honestly, jumping straight to my grades. Not cool, Em, not cool. </em></p><p>“It’s me, Mittens.” Emira deadpans as Amity’s smile meets her sister’s golden eyes. “It’s my start-up, BloodBerry. Seriously, I told you a bajillion times.”</p><p>“Uh, yeah, sure.” Amity is honestly hoping the topic of grades won’t come up again. It’s just a tiny misstep, she can fix it during the next test. Just score a few perfect hundreds, and that’ll be it. <em> Easy-peasy. </em> “Come on, save it for the press releases.”</p><p>Amity puts on the tea, and the pleasant smell of bergamot from the jar soothes her frostbitten nostrils. There’s not much in the fridge that she can actually eat, what with the Twins having dropped professional sports — and their perfect metabolism, which might be making Amity just a tiny bit envious.</p><p>“Just saying~” Emira sing-songs (in her worst sing-songy manner) and hugs Amity from behind (in her worst sisterly manner). </p><p>The youngest Blight briefly ponders faking a reflex and giving her sister an elbow to the face, but reconsiders, solely based on Emira’s martial arts proficiency. <em> And not because she’s my sister or anything.  </em></p><p>Instead, she frees herself from the embrace and ponders on breakfast. Bacon and eggs sound good, but Amity had the same breakfast yesterday. And the day before that. </p><p><em> You know what? </em> the girl thinks and reaches for the cupboard with mac’n’cheese. <em> Who even cares for a little carbs?  </em></p><p>“Wow, Mittens, going heavy on your breakfast today?” </p><p>Apparently Emira cares. Putting the water to boil, Amity considers if the walls are soundproof enough for her to murder Emira without drawing attention. They aren’t, so Emira gets to live another day, and Amity gets to put the pasta inside the pot because Amity is smart and used the already-boiling water from the kettle, saving herself some time.</p><p>“You know, it’s good seeing yourself let go a bit. That high-protein diet of yours is a bitch to maintain,” Emira carries on, and Amity couldn’t care less because Amity is hungry and Amity hates everyone. “At fourteen I was sure I was gonna be in karate forever, and now that I’m almost seventeen, I have my own IT company. Things change fast when you’re a teen.”</p><p>“Yeah, like three years ago I was gonna go into competitive figure skating, but winning my first Grand Prix at fifteen, I decided to go into law,” a male voice supplies from the side.</p><p>“Edric!” Amity almost jumps up, startled. “How long have you been standing there?!”</p><p>A tall green-haired boy emerges from behind the corner, looking exactly like Emira, except with shorter hair and wearing a simpler outfit: a T-shirt and some jogging pants, which are a contrast to Emira’s formal trousers. </p><p>“I’m stealthy!” Edric is grinning that awful Twin-Grin, which Emira always, <em> always </em>reciprocates. It’s infuriating, really. “So yeah, Mittens, look, you’ve got good genes. Emira is a genius software engineer, and I am probably the first person to have passed the LSAT at sixteen.”</p><p>“Yeah, go on, rub it in my face how you’re pre-enrolled in Yale, and I’m failing Maths,” Amity grumbles, taking out some cream from the fridge to mix it up with the cheese powder.</p><p>“You’re failing Maths?” Edric gasps, then turns to Emira to clarify. “Em, is Mittens failing Maths?”</p><p>“Well, no,” Emira admits, “but she got an 86 on her recent test, and the teacher called me, cause usually her grades are all above 90.”</p><p>“The teacher is an ugly filthy witch,” Amity responds from her place by the stove. </p><p>“Language!” Edric smirks, knowing better than anyone that he and Emira are the ones who swear all the time, while Amity censors herself. </p><p>“Your bangs are showing,” Emira remarks, pointing out Amity’s patches of brown on the otherwise green hair. “Are you planning to dye your hair soon?”</p><p>Amity runs her hand through her hair, thinking. “No,” she says finally, stirring the sauce into the pasta. “I think I’ll go back to my natural colour. If that’s okay with you.”</p><p>“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Edric smiles paternally, and Amity hates him just a little less than usual. “If anything, we’re proud of you, Mittens. Instead of modelling after us, you’re making a grown-up decision.”</p><p>“Aww, our tiny Mittens is all grown-up~” Emira coos and, before Amity can escape, wraps her in a hug.</p><p>Edric, the traitor that he is, immediately joins the sibling hug (which Amity sincerely enjoys, but would never admit). “Ah, time flies!”</p><p>Time, indeed, does fly. </p><p>First Amity has some more bickering with the Twins, and then there’s a movie and Ed <em> needs </em>his sisters to watch it with him cause it’s a scary one and Edric can’t handle it alone. So the three of them watch it at four p.m. before it gets dark. </p><p>Then there is a lot of homework, which Amity needs to focus on, not too much, but she pays extra diligence to Maths. Then there’s the evening stretching, and, before she has to do fasting again, Emira takes her out to dinner — ‘to keep appearances’ — while lucky Edric manages to escape the public outing by locking himself up in the study because ‘Law Theory is confusing and I need some quiet time to get it!’</p><p>Amity knows very well Edric is already drafting papers on Civil Procedure and property disputes and other advanced stuff. So the teen makes a mental note that the next time it’s gonna be Edric who’ll have to ‘keep appearances’, while she remains in the cosy confines of her bedroom.</p><p>The bedroom, though, does not seem particularly cosy tonight. Amity stays up late, way later than she’s supposed to. It’s way past midnight, almost one, and Amity can’t fall asleep, groaning and rolling around, and throwing off the blanket, and cuddling up in the blanket, and changing her sleeping position, and doing everything — and sleep, as much as it is desired, is not coming to her.</p><p>Usually Amity goes blank whenever she feels like it. But tonight she cannot catch a wink of sleep, her eyes are wide open, and she’s staring at the ceiling. </p><p>It’s not like Amity is thinking about something in particular. And it’s definitely not Maths, and it’s definitely not the upcoming national championship, and it’s definitely, absolutely, one-hundred-percent not Luz.</p><p>Amity is just… overstrained, that’s all. Too much stretching, too much rest between sets. She’s gotten soft and that’s why she can’t fall asleep. Usually the young fencer is tired enough to just black out for seven hours straight, but now it seems her body needs more vigorous exercise.</p><p>So Amity springs up and starts doing squats till her quads burn. She has to go to sleep, and she will go to sleep, because her body is a perfect machine and she needs to maintain it well.</p><p><em> Tomorrow, </em> Amity thinks, trying to get her pulse elevated. <em> Tomorrow, at the practice, I’m gonna forget all about Luz.  </em></p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, guys, fall in line.”</p><p>As soon as the command resonates in the gymnasium, the four fencers stop their chatter and spring up, forming a line by height. Amity isn’t a fan of this arrangement — mostly because she has to stand next to Boscha while Gus and Willow linger a bit apart — but now that Skara isn’t there anymore, she gets to stand next to Willow as well instead of being sandwiched between two narcissistic drama queens.</p><p>Besides, Lilith knows better how to sort her students because Lilith is an Olympic champion and a three-time world champion and all that Amity has is a gold medal for winning the local state tournament. </p><p>So when the coach — long-haired, stately, prim and majestic — eyes the four teenagers, Amity feels a surge of awe and respect; just like every time she thinks of Lilith. And yes, maybe Lilith <em> was </em> Amity’s first crush, and yes, Lilith is much older, and yes Amity knows it and she <em> got over it</em>, and now it’s just awe and sheer respect. And maybe way too many posters and regalia.</p><p>Lilith’s heterochromic eyes are inspecting the athletes superficially, and Amity gulps, knowing that her exhaustion from a sleepless night probably shows. Lilith is fair, but she is strict, and she doesn’t allow her students any kind of malnourishment, physical or mental. Everyone on the Hexside fencing team needs to be in top shape.</p><p>“Gus, less video games,” Lilith raps out with just one glance at the boy, who frowns sheepishly, rubbing his eye. “More sleep.”</p><p>Gus, the shortest and the cheeriest of the bunch, doesn’t seem like a professional athlete. Junk food is his favourite breakfast, lunch, and dinner; and playing video games is his favourite past-time. And yet, the boy’s metabolism is beyond anything Amity could possibly attain, so Gus stays swift and agile, his parries undeniably the best. And yet he does get tired very quickly, which is why skipping on sleep is probably worse for him than anyone on the team.</p><p>The blue-and-grey (<em>seriously, how cool is that?!</em>) eyes fall onto Willow next. “Willow, you need carbs. No, your cheeks are fine. No, you’re not plump, and yes, you need carbs.”</p><p>“Okay, Lilith,” the short brunette mutters, and Amity squeezes the girl’s hand slightly. </p><p>Willow is a dear friend, but sometimes she reads too much into her build. Sure, Willow is more swole than ripped, and her body fat percentage is higher than her peers’, but that’s exactly her strength: she can train more, lift heavier weights, and those forearms never get tired, so the épée is just a weightless stick in her skilful hands. Three-minute bouts are child’s play for the strong teenager: her opponents tire out before Willow can even break a sweat. But when Willow gets the wrong ideas and laments about how she’s ‘getting chubby’, she cuts down on carbs, and that kills her endurance. </p><p>“Amity,” Lilith says next, and Amity gulps in fear. <em> She’s gonna notice I didn’t get much sleep because I was thinking about Luz and her luscious lips! </em>“Take it easy, okay? You seem tense.”</p><p>Amity lets out a breath, while Boscha snorts next to her, running a hand through her pink hair. <em> Seriously, who even dyes their hair pink?  </em></p><p>Before Amity can get into more hypocrisy, Lilith just nods at Boscha to her left — which means she has no comments.</p><p>Well, of course. Boscha, the star child, the perfect one. Deep inside Amity knows that Boscha works harder than anyone, that her attendance and grades at school are insanely bad because every day Boscha is on the running track or skipping rope or doing chair splits or other superhuman feats. After all, Boscha has taken <em> two </em>state championships, and she’s already had a bronze at national level. At fourteen! </p><p>“Today we have a new fencer joining our team,” Lilith announces in a tone reserved for day-to-day events. Even though this is by no means a day-to-day event: the Hexside team had five members for five years, and it was only recently that Skara left so of course Lilith was bound to fill the void with someone.</p><p>Still, even though it was to be expected, there are tiny grunts and whispers to Amity’s right, between Gus and Willow. </p><p>Boscha, however, is nothing but outspoken. “Why do we need a newbie, Lilith? We’ll make a good team of four.”</p><p>“Because ever since Skara moved away, we need a fifth member to participate in tournaments,” Lilith explains with patience only acquired by talking to Boscha for extended periods of time.</p><p>“That traitor!” Boscha hisses, flicking her fingers as if getting rid of a bug. “Ditching me— I mean, the team.”</p><p>“What’s your problem?” Willow interrupts sternly.</p><p>Amity smiles. Willow does <em> not </em>take shit from anyone, let alone Boscha.</p><p>“Her Mom landed a job at Spotify, of course they were gonna move!” the brunette turns away from the tallest fencer in indignation.</p><p>“I don’t even use Spotify,” Boscha counters, unperturbed. “Besides, the time difference makes it hard for me to talk to Skara.”</p><p>“Small-talk over,” the coach announces, motioning towards the empty doorway. “Luz, you can come in!”</p><p>The moment Lilith calls out the name, Amity freezes in her spot. <em> Luz, as in, no no way, Luz must be a popular name so—  </em></p><p>Luz enters the little gymnasium.</p><p>The Luz from yesterday, the cutest girl in town, the blabbery cheerful bubble of happiness, enters Amity’s gymnasium. Because the world is strange, and things like this are not supposed to happen. And yet they do, because the tan beauty is standing right in front of Amity in full fencing attire sans the mask — and Amity, apparently, has forgotten how to breathe.</p><p>Then again, why would Amity need her breath if she is perfectly comfortable with Luz taking her breath away — as long as, in return, Amity can stare at Luz and not seem weird and <em> oh my God I do seem weird don’t I? I’m a freaking perv for staring at that heavenly face. </em></p><p>“Oh hi Amity!” Luz waves at the only familiar face in the room, and Amity turns into a pink blushy mess because Amity is pathetic. </p><p>“Hi, Lilith!” Luz waves at their coach. “I brought empanadas, but they’re in my backpack.”</p><p>
  <em> Apparently I’m not the only familiar face in the room. </em>
</p><p>Brushing aside any ideas of how Luz might be familiar with the greatest épée master of all time (except Hieronymus ‘The Butcher’ Bump, but Amity isn’t sure he’s even real), Amity takes a five-second breath on a seven-second exhale to lower her pulse. Then another one to make her heart stop quivering at the idea of Luz being real, and of Luz being in her life now. Then yet another one because she just thought of Luz and her pulse went up again.</p><p>“Would you like to introduce yourself to the team, Luz?” Lilith prods with an intonation that betrays an underlying knowledge of Luz’s apparent lack of concentration. </p><p>“Right!” Luz throws her fist in the air — just like in the gym yesterday. “Hi everyone, I’m Luz Noceda, I’m fourteen-but-almost-fifteen, I’m Dominican-American, I like books, cats, and long walks on the beach.”</p><p>Amity feels the skin of her face dry up from the heat and then get drenched in sweat. <em> Ah, the natural moisturiser for all flustered fencers. </em></p><p>Boscha elbows her in the ribs. “Heeeey, Amity, she’s a catch, isn’t she? Books, cats, long walks on the beach?”</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha,” Amity replies automatically, trying not to stare too much at how pretty Luz Noceda is. Why did she even come out to her team members? Now every time there’s a pretty girl around, everyone just starts teasing Amity, the resident lesbian. </p><p>Lilith sighs, used to the usual hijinks, and motions for the newcomer to join the team. Seeing as Luz eyes the room in confusion, her épée in hand, Lilith smiles warmly — the sort of smile Amity lives for. Then again, Amity now lives to see Luz, apparently, because Amity is a creep and Amity got it bad.</p><p>“It’s okay, Luz.” Lilith’s tone is nearly maternal. <em> No, not ‘maternal’! Because Lilith is my mother figure so she can’t be Luz’s mother figure because otherwise Luz is kind of my sister and that means I can’t hold hands with her and smooch her. </em> “You can put your weapon on the floor. We don’t exactly have holders here. You have ten minutes to get acquainted.”</p><p>“Okay!” Luz places the épée near the bench, where the rest of the team are already sitting in the same fashion — Boscha and Amity to the right, and Willow and Gus to the left.</p><p>Luz, naturally, plops in the centre, drawing a curious look from Willow and a smitten look from Amity. Because by this point probably everyone can see that Amity is 100% smitten with Luz and her fantastic face. Except, well, Luz herself.</p><p>“Hi Amity! It’s so cool to see you here, you’re doing fencing too! That’s so nice to see a friendly face!” </p><p>“Meep,” Amity replies because her lexicon has been reduced to simple sounds because Luz is actually hugging her, and, while Amity’s gear is enough protection from steel, it’s not enough to protect her from the heat of Luz’s (very well-toned!) body. </p><p>“Hmph.” Boscha takes one glance at the épée by Luz’s feet and looks away. “A straight handle, how quaint.”</p><p>“Yeah, Boscha, we know there is nothing straight about you,” Willow remarks. “Hi, Luz, I’m Willow, this is Gus.”</p><p>“Hi there!” Gus waves timidly. Despite his sunny disposition, the boy is actually pretty shy, believe it or not.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Luz, and there’s nothing straight about me either!” Luz replies — honestly, where does all that energy come from? “I’m bisexual!”</p><p>Amity coughs up some air, choking on the idea of Luz being into girls and, possibly, being into her. <em> So when she asked me out to breakfast, it might have been—  </em></p><p>“You okay?” Luz immediately asks, patting Amity’s back — which is <em> not </em>helping in the slightest. “We met at the gym yesterday,” the newbie announces to everyone else with a wide, happy smile.</p><p>“I’m fine! The A/C is too strong,” Amity says before anyone (Boscha) can remark on how Luz and Amity go ‘way back’.</p><p>“But…” Luz rubs her chin, casting a look around. “There’s no A/C in—” </p><p>“A straight handle is good for beginners.” Amity is simply protecting Luz because Luz is a beginner and a newbie and not because she thought of holding hands with Luz for, like, half a day yesterday. And then thought about making out with Luz for half a night. </p><p>Thankfully, Lilith arrives, back from the corridor, and claps her hands. “All right, guys! Enough chit-chat, since you’re all geared up, let’s show Luz the ropes.”</p><p>Boscha opens her mouth but Amity’s hand clasps it shut while the green-haired girl wishes the daggers in her eyes could stab Boscha in her stupid face.</p><p>“Amity, you’re on.”</p><p>Amity gulps and tries to fake the cheerfulest smile. Because why would she be worried? It’s just Luz, whom Amity has known for barely two days, and Luz is very pretty and her personality is such a contrast to Amity’s that Amity thinks they might work together, and Luz is attracted to girls and they <em> might </em> just <em> work </em>together— It’s just Luz. Just a newbie, and Amity needs to get her shit together and stop being a creep with a crush.</p><p>“Okay, so you’re in gear,” Amity explains, standing next to Luz (in <em> very </em>close proximity). “This here is the piste, well, our version of it. I recommend that you put on the mask before you go connect yourself — right now we’re not gonna do it because we’re not really sparring, but usually you connect to—”</p><p>“I know,” Luz smiles and puts on her mask. “I know a bit of the basics.”</p><p>“Ah!” Amity nods eagerly, a grin surfacing on her face immediately. “You’ve read about it, right?”</p><p>With Luz’s face fully covered, Amity feels a surge of confidence like she’s never felt around the Dominican girl. Perhaps it can be attributed to Luz now looking like an opponent, not a crush. Amity knows opponents, and when her opponents are actually her teammates, Amity usually resorts to playful banter — something that Luz seems to enjoy as well, at least judging by her smirks behind the mesh. </p><p>“Something like that,” Luz shrugs and takes her place on the piste.</p><p>Amity stands opposite her, feeling a surge of excitement. With Luz in full gear, she’s a rival, a student, a teammate — but not a crush. It’s hard to explain, Amity thinks, but it’s like the unfortunate side effects of her being a mushy flustered mess around her crush dissipate at the familiar sight of a masked, covered fencer against her on the piste. </p><p>Right now that fencer is Luz, and Amity is fully focused on teaching — and showing — Luz whatever she can. Amity <em> might </em>be a bit of a show-off. But, well, at least not on Boscha’s level.</p><p>“Okay, Amity, take it easy, I want Luz to get a hang of how real fights work,” Lilith’s voice reaches her from beyond the mask, muffled. “Try to do it at half-pace.”</p><p>“Yes, Amity!” Luz’s voice reaches the Blight’s ears from across the piste. “It’s my first time holding an épée, please be gentle with me~”</p><p><em> Is Luz… flirting with me? </em>Amity half-expects to be debilitated, destabilised from the sheer embarrassment — but the feeling never comes. Instead, in a heartbeat, there’s excitement, the usual rush of pre-battle adrenaline, only now her opponent is a pretty girl whom Amity — for the first time today — can flirt with.</p><p>“Oh, I will, sweetie,” Amity half-banters, half-flirts. <em> Wow I’m good, real good! </em>“You’re awfully sassy for a fourteen-year-old, you know that?”</p><p>“Told you~” Luz sing-songs back from behind the mask and flicks her épée in the air. “I’m almost fifteen!”</p><p>“All right, enough chit-chat.” Lilith is very bad at masking hidden pleasure in her voice, because Amity can hear perfectly well that her coach is content — for some reason — about Luz and Amity getting along. “En garde!”</p><p>Amity begins to explain the terms. “<em>En garde </em> means that you have to take your weapon and—”</p><p>It takes Luz a mere second to take the perfect stance — feet alternating as the girl dances heel-to-toe, her legs in a half-squat, the left foot slightly on its side, ready to be dragged into a lunge; or propelled into an attack. </p><p>It’s almost perfect. The only thing is, Luz lifts her left arm high above her shoulder.</p><p>“Yeah, maybe drop the classical stance?” Amity suggests with a tiny smile invisible to her opponent. “This kind of stance might work in foil, but in our discipline the whole body’s the target area, and an arched arm is an easy target. Try to keep it behind your back, like this.”</p><p>Amity makes an exaggeratedly slow gesture of bringing her left arm up and then down, bending it at seventy-five degrees behind her waistline. <em> Damn, I’m a great teacher. Step aside, Lilith! </em></p><p>“Good to know.” Luz smirks behind her mask, and yet does not lower the arm.</p><p>It’s nice to see the girl this confident. Confidence brings out the beauty in people, Amity thinks, and Luz’s beauty only intensifies by the smirk in her eyes (which Amity can’t see but can perfectly imagine) and the stance that says ‘come at me’.</p><p>And so she does, as soon as she hears the long-awaited “Prêtes? Allez!” </p><p>It’s funny how the referees never confirm if the fencers are actually ready and jump straight to ‘go!’ But Luz, it seems, is ready. In fact, she’s more ready than expected. Because, when Amity wants to show Luz how a basic thrust works — deliberately slowing down — the girl parries.</p><p>From the first position.</p><p>There is laughter from the bench, and Amity blushes thickly from beneath the mask. Getting your attack parried from the first position — the open position that literally <em> no one </em>has used since the nineteenth century — is basically a fencer’s way of saying ‘I’ll wait here while you decide to speed up’.</p><p>“Not just books, I guess?” Amity calls out, falling into the fifth position — her standard stance. Which might be unorthodox, but who cares? It’s taunting, it’s provocative, it’s <em> so </em>... Amity.</p><p>“I guess!” Luz laughs and takes the fourth position, her feet lazily doing the usual dance. “May I have this point, m’lady?”</p><p>Amity smirks, trembling in anticipation, her calves ready for some actual work. “You can try.” <em> Wow did I flirt back? I’m Amazing at this! With a capital ‘A’! </em></p><p>Amity easily blocks the advance by stepping aside, taking a point at Luz’s shoulder. The two girls go back to En Garde, and, the second time Luz advances, Amity decides on a circle parry — and makes a mistake, opening up her elbow. </p><p>Still, Luz does not use this chance and targets the abdomen, losing a point to Amity again. Even though Luz claims to be a beginner, she has <em> definitely </em>had some training before, because she switches easily between upper and lower positions and her advances and parries make Amity actually speed up to her usual pace.</p><p>“Wow, you know a lot of positions for a beginner!” Amity calls out, panting.</p><p>“Yes, Amity,” Boscha cries out from the bench, “Luz knows <em> a lot of positions, </em>she’s a real catch!”</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha!” Amity calls out and gets back to the battle. No, Luz is <em> not </em> a beginner. Yet, she seems intent on only targeting the torso — and that gives Amity a blatant advantage. Because the young fencer has to admit: if Luz had gone for Amity’s elbow just a minute ago, she would have gotten the point. She’s just <em> that </em>good.</p><p>Amity notes that the way Luz moves her feet prohibits her from resorting to an appel to distract her; but it’s the perfect footwork for a flèche. Not that Luz can do a flèche, obviously. Then again, there is nothing obvious about how an apparent newbie fences like a pro.</p><p>So the Blight rushes into a balestra, but, before she can finish it with a lunge, Luz <em> ducks</em>, and, with a circle parry, almost hits Amity’s shoulder. </p><p>Thankfully, Amity bends like a cat to escape the attack, but there is no more momentum for a lunge. So Amity does the only reasonable thing and jumps forward, propelling herself to take Luz’s place at the piste.</p><p>Luz takes Amity’s place instead.</p><p>“Why do you only target the chest area?” Amity huffs, grinning like a madwoman, electricity running through her limbs, jolting her awake and alert. Her favourite sensation — the unfiltered euphoria of the battle.</p><p>“Oh, I dunno,” Luz calls out. “Maybe I just like your pretty chest?” </p><p>Even though her opponent is wearing a mask, Amity suddenly remembers that Luz is, in fact, very cute. “Do you flirt with every opponent you take on?” Amity tries not to fall prey to Luz’s teasing, lest she lose concentration.</p><p>“Oh no,” Luz responds with an advance, “only the pretty ones!” </p><p>Amity’s brain needs one quarter of a second to process Luz calling her pretty. And that’s one quarter of a second that she needs to parry Luz’s lunge. </p><p>It happens too fast, but the point of Luz’s épée is against Amity’s chest just as Amity thrusts her weapon into Luz’s leg. One quarter of a second too late.</p><p>“Point!” Amity hears Lilith’s voice and takes off her mask, throwing it on the piste. </p><p>“We’re opponents, we’re not supposed to—” Amity begins, but Luz has already taken off her mask and is eyeing Amity with genuine concern, and at this moment Amity is pretty sure she would sell her soul to Luz for a nickel if Luz asked. And even if Luz didn’t ask.</p><p>Amity freezes mid-phrase. Not supposed to do what? Not supposed to respond to flirting like a well-boiled beetroot? Not supposed to have a crush on the beautiful Dominicana girl? Not supposed to take in every part of Luz’s athletic body, her charming smile, her bright, unusual demeanour? Not supposed to lose a point for the first time in a year? To a newbie, that is?</p><p>“You’re not a newbie,” Amity says instead, eyeing Luz, who still looks concerned. “You fight like a pro.”</p><p>“I’m sorry if it looked like I deceived you.” </p><p>There is genuine guilt in Luz Noceda’s voice, and Amity would run to her and hug her and hold her close — except Amity knows she would probably faint into the girl’s embrace and not be of any help.</p><p>“I… I wasn’t kidding, it’s my first time holding an épée,” Luz says, hiding her gaze sheepishly. “But I’ve done seven years of foil.”</p><p>“So <em> that’s </em>why you were targeting the chest.” Amity smiles in relief, and a smile also appears on Luz’s face at the sight of Amity no longer frowning. Even though Amity does want to frown just a little, for she was secretly hoping the real reason was her chest being a pretty target for Luz.</p><p>“Okay, match!” Lilith announces and waves the two towards the bench. “Good job, girls. Luz, fantastic. This is beyond amateur.”</p><p>In Lilith’s vocabulary, ‘beyond amateur’ is one of the highest degrees of praise a pupil can get. </p><p>Amity is slightly ashamed of losing a point, but a) Luz tricked her with her love magic, and b) Luz is, apparently, a pro, so it’s not shameful to lose to someone of your skill or above.</p><p>
  <em> That brings a question…  </em>
</p><p>“Why do you use the French grip? I thought foil was exclusively pistol grip?”</p><p>“Not necessarily,” Lilith answers Amity’s question instead of Luz while the girls approach the trio sitting on the bench. “No one expects their opponent to be posting in foil, so the French grip gives you a tactical advantage if your forearms are strong enough to parry.”</p><p>“Mine are buff!” Luz exclaims, bending her arm to flex the forearm, and Amity grabs her water bottle, drinking greedily.</p><p>“Did they, like, make out on the piste, but without actually making out?” Gus whispers to Willow, but before Amity can hear the girl’s reply (and probably die of embarrassment), Boscha gets up and approaches Luz.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Boscha, and they call me ‘the three-eyed-demon’ because I can see my enemy’s weakness with my eyes closed.”</p><p>“Don’t pay attention to her,” Willow interrupts the pink-haired girl, “we call her ‘pudding’ because she likes pudding.”</p><p>“Alternatively,” Gus chimes in, “we call her ‘shut uuup, Boscha’ — with that exact intonation.”</p><p>“Oh come on you squeak, you switched over from sabre, you don’t even <em> have </em>a say, you pleb.”</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha, nobody likes you.” Gus grins. “See?”</p><p>“I see you got what it takes.” Boscha grins, eyeing Luz up and down. “Stick with me, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know to <em> win</em>.”</p><p>“Thanks for the offer!” Luz chirps, casting a side glance at Amity — who returns to the bottle. “But I’d rather stick with Amity.”</p><p><em> Yay she’d rather stick with me! Wait oh no she’d rather stick with me! And I’m sweaty and smelly and— okay, losing my mind here. </em>Amity has to resort to some more paced breathing before she can attain the necessary peace of mind. Or, well, whatever semblance of peace she can attain when Luz is right there by her side, making her heart race like crazy.</p><p><em> It’s just the fight, </em> Amity lies to herself. <em> The duel got my heart racing. </em> So Amity drinks some more water, trying not to look at the girl that is <em> really </em>making her heart race.</p><p>“Well, that’s settled then.” Sometimes Amity forgets that Lilith listens silently to every conversation without passing judgement, unless it’s about training. “Amity, you’re going to be Luz’s tutor.”</p><p>“M-me?” Amity shrieks, spilling water all over herself. “But I’m not a tutor!”</p><p>“You are the best fencer on the Hexside team,” Lilith glares at Boscha, who crosses her arms and looks away, “and Luz, despite her foil proficiency, will need some peer-to-peer guidance with the épée.” </p><p>“Yeeeeah,” Boscha whispers acidically, catching Amity’s stares at Luz. “Some ‘guidance’, hehehe.”</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha, nobody likes you.” Amity fishes out her towel, trying to wipe her wet gear. Thankfully, all the protection beneath the fabric makes sure that her forms aren’t visible. To Luz. Because if Luz can see her, in a wet piece of clothing… </p><p>Amity looks away, lest anyone see that her fingers are now trembling, her face is back to a darker shade of pink, and her lips are dry despite half a liter of water she’s just chugged down.</p><p>Lilith takes a long look at Boscha. “Besides, Amity, you’ve just been promoted to team captain.”</p><p>“What? I am the captain!” Boscha steps forward, disbelief etched in her every facial feature. “That’s bull—” </p><p>“I thought fencing teams weren’t supposed to have captains?” Luz asks innocently, and every single stare in the room is drawn to her.</p><p>“Winning fencing teams have a captain,” Amity explains, hoping that Boscha won’t cause a scene. Frankly, it’s a symbolic title, and, while Amity is slightly happy she’s the captain now, she would gladly push the responsibility back to Boscha. “It’s about making sure everyone is at their best, for tournaments.”</p><p>“I thought fencing was all about sportsmanship?” <em> Oh Luz how come you’ve fenced for seven years and haven’t figured it out? Truly you are the densest. </em></p><p>“Okay, your first lesson as my <em> protégé</em>,” Amity half-smiles because Luz has been fencing for just as long as her, “is that each one of us at Hexside is a winner. And that’s why we’re here. Isn’t it why you’re here?”</p><p>Luz laughs and waves her hand. “Oh, no! I never actually trained competitively. I’m here because Lilith’s sister Eda asked her to take me and Lilith couldn’t say no to her little sis!”</p><p>“I <em> can </em> say no to Edalyn!” Lilith is blushing for the first time in Amity’s life. “I just, um, don’t want to.”</p><p>“Edalyn?” Amity feels like her throat is closed up because words seem to come out with extreme difficulty. “As in, Edalyn Clawthorne? The famous Russian Rapier?! You were trained by <em> the </em>Edalyn Clawthorne?!” </p><p>“The <em> infamous </em> Russian Rapier,” Boscha scoffs, still visibly upset at losing the (worthless) title. “Everyone knows she cheated at the Olympics.”</p><p>“No she didn’t!” Luz interrupts, taking a step towards the tallest girl. “She got the point after she landed on <em> one </em> knee, the second knee hit the ground <em> after </em>she scored!”</p><p>“Hey, newbie, don’t you even <em> dare </em> talk to me about the rules.” Boscha’s hands form tight fists, but Amity steps in before things can get ugly.</p><p>“Don’t even think about it, Boscha.” Amity’s voice is level, but everyone knows Emira has been giving her little sister self-defence lessons since she was six. “We’re on the same team now.”</p><p>Boscha huffs and almost spits on the floor. “Well, just because you’re the capitain now and you want to smooch her stupid face, it doesn’t mean that everyone should like her.”</p><p>“Well, just because Amity’s the captain and she wants to—” Luz begins from behind Amity’s shoulder. Then she turns towards Amity, <em> way </em>too close to her face. “Wait, you wanna smooch my face?” </p><p>“I wanna start training!” Amity blurts out, wishing the heat in her cheeks could burn so that she could incinerate Boscha. “Let’s go, show me what you’ve got. I mean, show me your moves. I mean— let’s go!”</p><p>“Tomorrow,” Lilith announces, observing the scene impartially. “Today there’s no more fencing, only core mobility. So go drop your gear and change into sweatsuits.”</p><p>“Noooooo!” the four established team members cry out, while Luz just grins, standing at Amity’s side obliviously.</p><p>“What’s wrong with core mobility?” Luz asks innocently. “Why are you guys afraid of a couple of crunches?”</p><p>Amity looks at her crush in disbelief. <em> I thought she was dense about my obvious crush on her. But it seems she’s just generally dense. Like an anime protagonist. </em></p><p>“Come on, guys!” Luz urges, drawing hateful stares from everyone but Amity (because Amity is now her tutor and Amity is in love and in denial). “It’s not so bad!”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“It…” Luz takes a sharp breath. “It was bad.”</p><p>“You don’t say!” Gus hisses, bent over and breathing heavily.</p><p>Core mobility days are the worst. First, everyone does crunches. Then, immediately, you gotta stretch the abdominals, so it’s all yoga and cobras and side bends. Then it’s weighted back extensions and more yoga and stretches. Then training obliques and lower abs, and more stretching. Then deadlifts — and if anyone overstresses their hamstrings (which is inevitable), the whole team does hamstring stretches and splits.</p><p>And all of that counts as just one set.</p><p>“I’ll never eat again,” Willow complains, the only one capable of standing and breathing without bending over.</p><p>Yet, Lilith begs to differ. “Willow, unless you push some carbs into yourself in the next half an hour, you’re off the team.”</p><p>“But Lilith, I’m gonna puke if I eat anything after all those crunches!”</p><p>“Okay, then <em> drink </em> some carbs. Here, have a gatorade.” Lilith throws a bottle to the girl, who catches it with a weak groan. </p><p>“Pathetic,” Boscha remarks, passing Willow on wobbling legs. “Who would even wanna date a girl who can’t last that long?”</p><p>Before Willow can snap back at the resident evilmaker, Boscha walks by, trying to hold her upper body as straight as possible, even though everyone (apart from maybe Luz), including Boscha herself, knows that Willow has more endurance and, as soon as the pink-haired girl is in the changing room, she’s gonna collapse from exhaustion.</p><p>“Boy, I’m so glad <em> you</em>’re my tutor!” Luz exclaims when Amity passes by (barely crawls by, honestly). “You’re so nice, and Boscha is just the worst.”</p><p>“She’s not the worst,” Willow says suddenly, already up and energetic after the gatorade. “Boscha is insecure, but she can be nice too.”</p><p>Amity completely disregards Willow’s possible stockholm syndrome (as well as her enviable capacity for fast recovery) and turns to the object of her affections. Luz, that is.</p><p>“You are an amazing fencer, and you’ll switch to the épée in no time.” Amity is earnest, and perhaps her sheer exhaustion is somehow affecting the usual flustered state she finds herself in every time she’s with Luz. “I don’t even know what I can teach you.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me?” Luz straightens up and throws her arm around Amity, and Amity is very proud because Amity still hasn’t fainted. “I have so much to learn from you! If I want to be any good, I need to learn how to properly target every body part.”</p><p>“Yes, Luz,” Boscha calls out from the corridor, “Amity will let you target <em> aaaaall </em>her body parts.”</p><p>“Shut uuup, pudding!” Amity groans, reluctantly freeing herself from underneath the well-toned tan arm.</p><p>Luz carries on, unperturbed. (<em>Or maybe she’s just impossibly dense. Or innocent. Or both.</em>) “So, with the épée, the whole body is fair play?”</p><p>“Yes,” Amity whispers, her eyes widening at how many implications are running through her mind right now. “Except the back of the head, it’s an illegal move.”</p><p>“Why did you lie, Luz?” Willow is fully recovered (lucky Willow) and coming to the rescue. “You were trained by the Russian Rapier, you’re obviously good at fencing, why hide it?”</p><p>“I didn’t lie,” Luz smiles, casting Amity a side look. “I said I never held an épée in my life, and that’s the truth!”</p><p>Amity snorts. “You cheeky—”</p><p>And then Luz looks at her directly, and flutters her eyelashes, and Amity suddenly remembers that when Luz is not wearing her mask, there is only one way Amity can react to her: turn into a flustered, meeping beetroot.</p><p>“Hey, how about I make it up to you?” Luz suggests to Amity the Beetroot. “I know you don’t have breakfast or dinner, so do you wanna grab lunch tomorrow? At, let’s say, four, after classes?”</p><p>“Lunch?” Amity blurts out, her mind blank at the words ‘wanna grab lunch’ coming off those lips. “Oh yes I love lunch! We’re great together, lunch and me! Favourite food of the day!” <em> Yes yes yes! Yes!! </em></p><p>Maybe — just maybe — Luz might be into her. And maybe Amity can show Luz how much she, Amity, is into Luz. And maybe even someone as dense as Luz can see that. Maybe Amity has gotten a second chance with Luz. And, with Luz now training with Amity — <em> under </em>Amity, in fact — hanging out with the cute Latina is no longer an impediment to Amity’s sports career.</p><p>Besides, with her coaching Luz, Amity doesn’t have to think as much about how attractive Luz’s smile is and how her eyes shine their path into Amity’s very soul. And Amity can definitely get over her initial flusteredness. <em> I mean, today was just my second day seeing Luz. Soon I’ll grow used to how pretty and fun and cute she is and won’t, like, faint every time she looks at me or smiles.  </em></p><p>“That’s great!” Luz throws her arms around Amity, and Amity quickly reconsiders every conclusion she’s just arrived at. “We’re gonna be the bestest friends ever!”</p><p>Suddenly, Amity is very glad Boscha isn’t within hearing range. Out of the corner of her eye, the green-haired fencer can see Willow looking at her smugly. Gus is almost out of the door, and Willow follows him without breaking eye contact with Amity, Willow’s green eyes looking at her from beneath the glasses, whispering silently, <em> the ‘bestest frieeeends’.  </em></p><p>And, just like that, Luz and Amity are alone in the room. At first, Amity tries not to think too much about it. She’s bound to be left alone with Luz from time to time.</p><p>So Amity paces her breathing once again, and resolves to stop getting overworked at the simple presence of the girl around her. <em> Crushes are weird. </em>Instead, Amity thinks about just how lucky she is:</p><p>
  <em> So I met a cute girl, now she’s my teammate and kind of my pupil, AND we’re going out to dinner. This is officially the best week since that week six years ago when Lilith asked me on the team. </em>
</p><p>“By the way,” Luz drops, heading for the doorway. Her smile is honest and the warmth of her eyes can melt the entire snow-covered city. “Fencing with you was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”</p><p>Amity stares blankly at the girl’s back. Then, as soon as the fencer is alone, she jumps up and down, squealing into her palms.</p><p>
  <em> Nope, sorry, Lilith, this is officially The Best Week Ever. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Full disclosure: I only did competitive fencing for a few years, and never got beyond local championships, so my fencing lingo might be very rusty, especially in English. Sorry for that and please feel free to correct me in the comments!</p><p>This story is dedicated to BitSweetChoc because I got the idea for this AU after seeing Fencing!Lumity pictures <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bsc_draws/">on their Instagram.</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the national championship looming over her, Amity keeps losing sleep, and her grades continue to deteriorate. It’s definitely not because of Luz, with whom Amity now talks every single day. Because Luz can’t possibly be attracted to her. Right?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Come on come on come on—” Amity urges the Uber driver quietly because she is running late and also because she can’t really urge him loudly because Amity still has manners.</p><p>It’s all Emira’s fault.</p><p>Because it was Emira who was preparing her for the date. The non-date! Amity is simply not good enough to have an actual date with Luz, that much is obvious. </p><p>Emira took too long braiding Amity’s hair — and when Amity saw what a disaster her braid was, Emira took too long unbraiding Amity’s hair and straightening it back.</p><p>And, when Amity was already in a rush, about to call an Uber, Emira insisted that Amity take the premium ride, because ‘those drivers pass more checks’ and because Edric had taken the goddamn car to take his friend Jerbo somewhere.</p><p><em> Honestly, with this much money, we could easily afford two cars. </em> And, since Emira was slow, and since the driver took so long (<em>well duh, if you want fast, you take Uber X</em>), and since Edric is a buffoon who would sell the freaking house to impress that boy, Amity is now running late for her lunch date (<em>Not a date!</em>) with Luz.</p><p>The suited driver offers to open the door for her, but Amity is already rushing out, running into the ground-floor cafe like her life depends on it. Her life probably does depend on it, because Luz is sitting right there by the window and probably saw Amity running like a mad weirdo.</p><p>“Hi, Amity, I got us a table!” </p><p>Of course Luz is already there because Amity is a tardy piece of crap who’s late to her first date. (<em>Non-date.</em>) And of course Luz gets up and takes Amity’s coat so gallantly, and Amity is ready to sit down because her knees are weak at the sight of her friend’s smile, but Luz is already there, pulling the chair for her.</p><p>Amity almost sits down on the floor.</p><p>“So, what do you wanna get?” Luz isn’t one for useless small-talk, it seems, jumping straight to the food selections stretched across the table. </p><p>Then again, Luz has probably been waiting for a while and has gotten hungry — and Amity is <em> not </em>gonna bring up her tardiness because, while it’s good manners to apologise, it’s much better manners to stare at your crush in silence and not blurt out something you would later regret. (Or not.)</p><p>“They still have a breakfast menu,” Luz carries on, shuffling through the papers, “but I kinda had breakfast already, well, more like pre-lunch because I already ate like seven pancakes before school and I dropped by for a bagel on the way here.”</p><p>Amity blinks, barely glancing at the various menus in front of her. “How do you—” </p><p>
  <em> Wait, no, if I ask her how she manages to keep in shape while eating like that, she’ll notice I was admiring her, um, ‘shape’. Dammit, Amity, stop being a teenage perv!  </em>
</p><p>“I guess I’ll have the ‘California breakfast’, whatever that is!” Luz chirps merrily, while her face is the rosary that Amity is giving her pre-meal prayer to. </p><p>Well, more of a chant than a prayer, telling herself to calm down and relax and just be a normal person around Luz and stop being a blushy mess. Because if Amity keeps being a blushy mess, that’s gonna overcomplicate things at fencing school.</p><p>Then Amity realises that Luz has been saying something and Amity wasn’t listening because she was too focused on the gorgeous girl and her facial features. <em> Like a dumb messy perv, great job, Amity. </em>But how, oh how can Amity resist the horrible perverted idea of kissing Luz on the lips when it just seems like the most pleasant thought Amity has ever had in her entire life?!</p><p>“Have you decided?” another voice joins in, and Amity realises that she was <em> so </em>lost in Luz that she didn’t notice a waitress by the table. “We have couples’ specials.”</p><p>Amity’s blush grows even thicker because Luz and her being a couple is a dream of national-championship-gold-winning proportions. “We’re not—” </p><p>“Ooooh, Amity, <em> honey</em>, let’s have a couple’s special!” Luz interrupts, leaning across the table to stroke Amity’s cheek.</p><p>Amity is speechless. Also, Amity is <em> never </em>washing that cheek again. Why would Luz stroke her cheek like that? It’s a 100% romantic gesture, and surely even someone as dense as Luz Noceda can see that? Is this a real date? Can Luz really be interested in Amity romantically? And if so, can Amity stop being a beetroot long enough to actually ask her?</p><p>“So how much is the couples’ discount?” Luz asks, grinning at the waitress after giving Amity a wink.</p><p><em>Or, alternatively, Luz did that to get a discount. </em>Amity feels like her gut is attempting a bungee jump. Without the rope. Off the tallest cliff in existence. Suddenly, she’s not hungry anymore, even though she’s been waiting for this meal since seven p.m. yesterday.</p><p>But, of course, it was incredibly stupid of her to assume that Luz might ever want to date her. Besides, Luz doesn’t even know that Amity is into girls because Amity never lets it show because Amity is the epitome or composure. <em> And also a filthy liar who’s lying to herself.  </em></p><p>“So, Amity, would you like some buns with the soup?”</p><p>Amity is back on Earth, staring at Luz while Luz is staring at her and the young waitress is staring at both of them. Thankfully, no one else is staring at anyone, so it’s not a staring contest of the most awkward proportions.</p><p>“The couple’s special is tomato soup with unlimited buns,” Luz explains. “Would you like some on a separate plate or do you want some of my buns?”</p><p>“I want some of your buns,” Amity whispers. “I mean, the steamed buns look pretty nice, yes, I’ll have a few, from your plate, yes, perfect.” <em> Good save, Amity. Perfect. Now you’ll have to stuff your face with unnecessary extra carbs.  </em></p><p>The soup is brought soon — with seven buns, and Luz immediately takes four — so it seems the cafe food is pre-served. Amity can’t complain, though, because, while they are eating, she doesn’t have to talk, and Luz doesn’t talk back, and Amity can almost pretend that she is an actual human being and not a pile of mush.</p><p>Unfortunately, Amity is hungry and Luz is just a fast eater, so the idyllic silence doesn’t last.</p><p>“I didn’t see you at school today,” Luz starts, putting down her fork. “You go to Bonesborough, right?”</p><p>Amity puts down her half-eaten bun in her empty soup bowl. “I, uh, go to a private school.” Then, the green-haired girl scowls. “With Boscha.”</p><p>“Oh, my condolences.” Luz reaches for one of Amity’s buns. <em> Which is the worst way to turn a phrase, ever. </em> “So are you. Um, you know?” Luz gesticulates with her mouth full. “Rich?”</p><p>“Oh, no, no!” Amity laughs. “I get my allowance like anyone else. I live with my brother and sister, now <em> they </em>did inherit a few millions, but they give me an average allowance like everyone.”</p><p>“What’s a…” Luz starts drawing circles on the table with her index finger. “What’s the ‘average’ allowance round here?”</p><p>“Oh, not much,” Amity replies with a smile, finding it very cute how bashful Luz is. Thankfully, she won’t upset the girl by being unreachable or too stuck-up like Boscha who only goes to ‘the finest establishments’. No, Amity is down-to-earth, and she’ll take Luz on many dates — <em> platonic </em>dates — and Luz won’t feel bad about Amity paying because Amity gets the average allowance, because that’s what Boscha and Skara get, and that’s what Em and Ed told her.</p><p>So she clarifies, “I barely get, like, a hundred dollars.”</p><p>Luz brightens up, and Amity squeals inside, seeing that she didn’t ostracise her pupil and her crush by being too rich. “A hundred dollars a week is pretty good, I get sixty, maybe eighty if Eda gives me some extra.” </p><p>Amity tries not to drop her smile, which is now a fascinating example of genuine-turned-fake. <em> I’d better not tell Luz that Em gives me a hundred per day, not per week.  </em></p><p>“So, how are your siblings?” Luz asks, sipping on the complimentary lemon water while the two of them are waiting for the hot tea. Even though Amity doesn’t need to get any <em> more </em>warm.</p><p>“They’re… okay?” Amity blinks in confusion.</p><p>Luz chuckles with her mouth full — and she’s the only person who is endearing and adorable when she does so. “No, I mean, what kind of people are they? You told me yesterday you hate them but you also love them?”</p><p>“Well, they <em> are </em>my siblings,” Amity chuckles too, albeit with an empty mouth. Because Amity can’t pull it off like Luz and Amity is not a slob like Edric. “Wanna meet them?”</p><p>Amity freezes, her sides suddenly cold despite the sweater and the heating installed right to her left below the window. What has she just done?! Has she just <em> invited </em> her crush to her apartment?! <em> Stupid Amity, stupid, that’s cringeworthy lovestruck behaviour and—  </em></p><p>“Sure thing, I’d love to!” Luz takes the final bun happily. “I’m free this weekend, you wanna text me the address later?”</p><p>“Yes!” Amity replies a bit more loudly than she expected. “Of course! I, uh, I’ll tell you how to get there and, uh, everything!”</p><p>“Great!” Luz smiles at her and reaches across the table to shake Amity’s hand. </p><p>Apparently, Amity is not gonna wash that hand either.</p><p>Well, no, about five minutes later, Amity needs to go to the bathroom, because all of this is too much, Luz is too good to be true, too perfect to exist, and Amity is in love for the first time, and it’s stupid because she’s only known Luz for two days — so Amity lets cold water wash away the confusion from her face. Including the cheek where Luz poked her. </p><p>Amity chuckles, realising both how ridiculous she’s being and how bad she’s got it for Luz. But, all things considered, Amity is feeling a little better.</p><p>When the green-haired girl returns to the table, Luz decides it’s her time to go ‘to the washing chamber’, as she pompously annoits the bathroom, making Amity giggle like a moron. <em> Well, it -is- a ‘WC’, after all. </em></p><p>Meanwhile, the waitress drops by and Amity asks for the check and the server remarks how cute Amity looks together with her girlfriend and Amity almost says ‘haha’ out loud like the moron she is.</p><p>Then the waitress brings the check in a tiny basket that has two pieces of chewing gum and winks at Amity. Amity takes almost a full minute to register the reason behind that wink as she puts it together: her and Luz being ‘a couple’, plus chewing gum for fresh breath.</p><p>Just before Luz approaches the table, Amity throws the chewing gum under her feet in panic. </p><p>“So, should we split the bill?” Luz plops down, her eyes on the straw basket with the check.</p><p>“C-can I…” Amity is blushing fiercely because Emira told her this kind of financial behaviour should only be reserved for romantic dates, family, and business meetings. “Can I foot the bill myself? A-and you could treat me out to tea later?”</p><p>Luz nods with her trademark soul-piercing smile. “Fine by me, you’re the tutor!” </p><p>“Yes!” Amity exclaims, off the hook. “Just, uh, a tutor, uh, treating her pupil to lunch, haha.”</p><p>Luz blinks. “Did you just say ‘haha’ out loud?”</p><p>“...Nyes?” Amity freezes, putting the bills into the little basket, making sure to leave an extra generous tip to the server thanks to whom Amity’s cheek is still burning with Luz’s touch despite having been thoroughly washed.</p><p>“Well, anyway, I’m buying you Starbucks tomorrow and you can’t pay there!”</p><p>“O-okay!” Amity agrees, her pulse rising higher than at cardio sessions. “Tomorrow after practice?”</p><p>Luz smiles radiantly. “It’s a date.” Then extends her neck, looking over the table. “Um, Amity, are you all right, you kind of tripped and fell?”</p><p>“Haaa— Amity is great! Amity is fine! Who’s Amity?” Amity replies from under the table, which is her new place of residence, because Luz should <em> not </em>use words like ‘date’ this lightly.</p><p>“Amity, sorry to bring this up, but… you seem really tense around me,” Luz remarks seriously as she helps Amity up. “Is it because I started with foil?”</p><p>“No, of course not!” Amity is furious with herself: due to her gross incompetence, now Luz is suspecting something is off, when the only thing that’s off is Amity’s sense of balance and Amity’s sense of normalcy around her crush. </p><p>“Is it because I’m bisexual?”</p><p>“No!” <em> Yes, because it means I have a possibility of kissing you and I’m probably gonna die if I never kiss you. Then again, if I do kiss you, I’ll die anyway, so…  </em></p><p>Amity is already way too flustered, and drawing too many looks, and while Luz obviously doesn’t care for the attention, it only adds more fuel to the flame on Amity’s cheeks and neck. “It’s totally fine with me! I’m LGBT too! I’m a luzbian— lesbian, I mean, lesbian!”</p><p>“Oh! Um, good to know.” For a split-second it seems to Amity that Luz is blushing, but then she prods on: “Then what’s up?”</p><p>“I, um, I just feel too much pressure,” Amity responds, and it’s not even half a lie. The pressure is real because Amity wants to show her best when she’s around Luz, and yet constantly shows her worst. Amity wants Luz to see that she’s smart, collected, and organised; and instead, Amity shows that she’s clownish, clumsy, and weird.</p><p>“Because of me?” Luz seems genuinely worried, and Amity doesn’t know what to say.</p><p>
  <em>Yes. Yes because you're beautiful and now you know I'm into girls and I’m so into you that I don’t know how I can remain friends with you without knowing if I have a chance with you romantically. Because I don’t understand what’s happening, I’ve never been in love before, and I can’t even tell you that. Yes, the pressure is real, and yes it’s because of you, Luz, because I’m in love with you.</em>
</p><p>Instead, Amity says slowly: “Well, uh… As your tutor, I want to teach you the best I can. As your teammate, I’m worried this dynamic might set us apart. And, well, since there’s gonna be individual competitions, that… that would make us rivals.”</p><p>Luz listens to Amity’s explanation seriously, nodding, and then leans slightly forward, propping herself by putting her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her hands. “Being friends <em> and </em>rivals is sexy, don’t you think?”</p><p>Amity thinks that it’s a good time to die because Amity has stopped functioning because Amity is pretty sure that she isn’t even sure where she is going with this because her mind is a blank field of empty nothingness.</p><p>“Well, at least that’s what fanfiction tells me!” Luz grins with a grin of a person whose crisis has just been resolved. “Don’t worry, Amity, I’m sure we can be friends and rivals and juggle whatever the tutor-pupil dynamic is. I’ve never had a peer to tutor me, have you had a pupil before?”</p><p>Amity is at a loss for words. <em> Did she just… Did she flirt with me and then go back to the conversation? What was that? Did I hallucinate it? Dammit, Luz, what’s going on with you?! </em></p><p>It’s fascinating (and perhaps a bit infuriating) how the ever-cheerful Latina can just say things like that and then blabber on without focusing much on the consequences. All her life Amity has been focused on the consequences of her words, her actions, her inaction. And, while Luz Noceda’s behaviour seems alien to her, it does carry at least a smidgeon of appeal. Maybe Luz will teach Amity more than Amity can teach Luz. <em> God, I’m such a glutton for pathos. </em></p><p>“No, you’re my first,” Amity says, and feels better because at least she’s not lying. Luz is her first pupil — that’s what’s on the surface. And, well, beneath the surface, Luz is her first real crush. (No, Lilith does <em> not </em>count because that was pretty much a celebrity crush in its own right.) </p><p>But no one will ever know about Amity’s crush on Luz. No one will find out. Everything’s gonna be fine because Amity can keep it a secret for months, years, decades. Forever. Amity will make sure of it.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“Mittens has a crush~”</p><p>Amity briefly considers using the tiny scissors on the vanity mirror to murder Emira, but reconsiders because she needs those scissors to trim her nails because the goddamn nail clipper can’t make the perfect shape, and the file can’t shave off enough.</p><p>Emira, however, persists and keeps dancing and circling around her sister like a dancing shark. “Luz and Mittens, sitting in a tree~”</p><p>“Why don’t you just keep rubbing it in, huh?” Amity grumbles, trying to focus on her (sub-par) appearance.</p><p>“Ooooh, because you wanna rub Luz <em> everywhere</em>~”</p><p>Amity blushes thickly, her (unpresentable) face losing its beetroot colour very quickly, unlike when she’s around Luz. “Em, what are you even saying? I’m not even fifteen, I don’t, uh, I—”</p><p>“Yes, yes, I know you’re young and innocent, Mittens,” Emira confirms and wraps her long arms around Amity’s neck, almost provoking the fourteen-year-old to use the scissors. “And you definitely don’t read steamy fanfiction before you go to bed~”</p><p>“Okay, that’s enough!” Amity is in full serious mode, because Luz is coming to the apartment within an hour, and because Amity <em> does </em>read steamy fanfiction before bed. Amity is fourteen, not four.</p><p>“Sorry, Mittens.” Emira’s grin fades, giving way to a kindly smile. “I’m really happy for you, you know?”</p><p>Amity frees herself from the sisterly hug and moves on to check on her oversized clothes that are waiting on the bed: a black shirt, green leggings (which are not too tight) and a necklace that would (hopefully) draw Luz Noceda’s attention. “Happy that I have a crush that will never reciprocate my feelings?”</p><p>“Happy that you <em> have </em>a crush,” Emira replies. “You are turning fifteen in a couple of months and I was worried that you would never fall for anyone. Or—” she raises her voice as Amity disappears in the bathroom with her clothes, “I was secretly hoping you would turn out asexual, but that’s clearly not the case!”</p><p>Amity does not dignify Emira with a reply, silently changing into her more presentable (but still not Luz-worthy) clothes. What can she say? That Luz’s mere existence in the world assures that Amity cannot be asexual? That she is at the age where the border between chaste and heated is diminishing, and it’s scary and weird and exciting? </p><p>That Amity was a fool for leaving her diary wide open in the living room so that Edric, who is allergic to drinking her dairy but not reading her diary, would find it and immediately tell Emira?</p><p>Amity emerges from the bathroom and takes a deep breath, seeing that Emira has (wisely) left her bedroom.</p><p>This week, Amity has been doing better. Comparatively. She still hasn’t fixed her Maths grade, and she might be a bit off on Ancient History, but who cares about ancient history when her modern history is being written right now?</p><p>Amity is still giving her best during training, and her workouts grow more entertaining, if longer, with Luz also there in the gym. Yet, Luz only works out twice a week, the rest is running, so Amity also takes on more running. And, with additional tutoring, and just hanging out with her new friend every moment that she has, in real life or through videochats, Amity simply does not have enough time for homework.</p><p>Not that homework matters that much to her anymore. Now what really matters to Amity is how she’s handling herself around Luz. And, if Amity dares say so, she’s doing much better. During training sessions, Amity is at her best, either a confident tutor or a cheeky rival, and she can even withstand Willow’s silent teasing and Boscha’s open disdain. Luz remains as oblivious as ever, making it harder for Amity’s crush on her, but easier for Amity’s social behaviour. </p><p>And in the gym, Amity almost doesn’t flip out like a weird mushy beetroot. ‘Almost’ meaning ‘except the time when Luz forgot her water bottle and asked Amity to share hers’.</p><p>Only now does Amity realise it’s awfully quiet. Living with Ed and Em, Amity does not trust quiet. Amity does not believe in quiet.</p><p>“Hi, Em! Hi, Mittens!” </p><p>Of course it’s Edric. With a sigh, Amity braces for more teasing and leaves her room, but — thank God — Edric has brought his friend Jerbo around, a nice, if a bit sheepish, brunette boy with a big nose and an even bigger personality.</p><p>“You’ve met Jerbo, right?” Edric throws his arm around Jerbo’s shoulders, and the boy smiles awkwardly.</p><p>“Yes, Edric,” Emira replies, now lounging on the sofa. “We’ve met Jerbo, you’ve been bringing him to the house for three years.” </p><p>“Oooooh, and Mittens is bringing her crush to the apartment!” Edric immediately remembers — even though Amity was hoping he’d forget.</p><p>“Can I please make fun of you when Luz is around?” Edric begs. “Pleeease?”</p><p>“No!” Amity shouts with vehemence. “No you can’t!”</p><p>“Aww, can we make smoochy faces when Luz isn’t looking?” Emira suggests, as if that is less of a hassle than verbal teasing.</p><p>“No!” Amity roars. </p><p>“Come on, Ed, I really have to go,” Jerbo urges, and Amity likes him even more than usual, “so if you want to give me that protein powder, now’s the time.”</p><p>“Right!” Thanks to Jerbo, Amity’s saviour, Ed drops his buffoonery and rushes to the kitchen. </p><p>“Jerbo is gonna start working out with me so he can get in the shape that he wants—” The green-haired boy emerges back into the corridor, carrying a jar of strawberry-flavoured protein powder. “Even though I keep telling him that his shape is perfect and he is the most gorgeous person in the universe.”</p><p>Emira chuckles while Amity briefly thinks that the most gorgeous person in the world is Luz, so Edric is, by default, wrong. </p><p>“I just need to shed some of that fat. See?” Jerbo lifts his polo shirt and flaps the skin around his lower abdomen. “I’ve embraced the fatness, Edric! I have embraced it.”</p><p>“Jerbo!” Emira cries out, watching her brother’s face turn legitimately red — which is fun in comic books but dangerous in real life. “Jerbo, stop! Ed is already gay!”</p><p>Jerbo pulls down his shirt and blinks at the flustered sixteen-year-old by his side. “Yes I know. What’s the matter?”</p><p>“I have to wash go bathroom face very much go right now!” </p><p>With that, Edric’s feet slide across the tiled floor as if he’s once again in the rink, and the door to the bathroom shuts with just a bit extra force.</p><p>“So,” Emira grins now that Jerbo is alone and ready for sisterly scrutiny. “How long have the two of you been dating?”</p><p>“Dating?” Jerbo blinks, and his face breaks into a concerned frown. “Oh no, no. I wish… But Edric would <em> never </em> date me. I mean, look at him: he’s so smart and athletic and cute and funny and <em> perfect</em>, and I’m just me. He’s obviously not interested in me.”</p><p>Now it is Amity’s turn to look at the (idiotic) boy. “Are you, by any chance, related to Luz Noceda?” she asks, foregoing any colourful skull-density-related insults that she was ready to launch at the oblivious moron. <em> Because only Luz can be this dense. </em></p><p>“Uh, no.” Jerbo blushes thickly as his mind is obviously set on a different track. “D-dating… Edric… J-jerbo Blight…” he mumbles, and Amity pretends she doesn’t hear, because a) it’s none of her business, and b) she can bet a thousand dollars Edric and Jerbo will get together by the end of the year.</p><p>So, instead, Amity keeps focused on her preparations. </p><p>Meanwhile, Edric emerges from the guest bathroom, wet-faced but overall less red. “S-sorry for that,” he says, letting on a weak smile.</p><p>Jerbo seems no less flustered, standing there with a jar of protein powder in his hands. “I, uh, I really have to go, b-but I’ll talk to you in the evening, as usual?”</p><p>“Yes!” Edric supplies immediately, walking towards the boy. “Of course, see you in the evening.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Jerbo says, almost whispers, really, and it’s only thanks to her superhuman hearing that Amity can even decipher the words.</p><p>And then Jerbo leans in and kisses Edric on the cheek before quickly disappearing behind the door. For a moment, the three siblings just stand there, Edric touching his cheek, Emira grinning to the max, and Amity checking if her face is presentable enough for Luz.</p><p>Then Edric mumbles something about needing a long shower, but Amity doesn’t pay heed because her phone is vibrating and it’s Luz.</p><p>“Hi, Luz!” Amity immediately picks up the phone. <em> She cancelled she doesn’t wanna come it’s a disaster it’s all my fault—  </em></p><p>“I’m downstairs.”</p><p><em>Oh. </em>“You’re downstairs,” Amity repeats dumbly because Amity is dumb. “You’re downstairs!”</p><p>“Yes,” Luz giggles from the speaker. “Now can you pick me up at the guards’ post?”</p><p>“Yes!” Amity blurts out, running out of the door. </p><p>Then Amity returns for the shoes, swearing in her colourful non-swearing fashion. Then she runs to the elevator and almost falls, tripping over her untied shoelaces. Then, instead of tying her shoelaces like a normal person, Amity just tugs them into the shoes and runs down the stairs because the elevator is too slow. And then, finally, Amity sees Luz, beautiful, gorgeous Luz in a plain green T-shirt and winter pants, a warm jacket tucked under her armpit. </p><p>“Hi Luz!” Amity says, and only then does she realise she’s been on the phone with Luz the whole time.</p><p>“Hi Miss ‘Fiddlesticks, those iffin’ shoes, darn ‘em to heck’!” Luz grins in reply and perhaps Amity considers running away and locking herself up inside her bedroom forever and never ever attempting to leave.</p><p>Instead, she takes Luz upstairs in the elevator like a normal person and the untied shoes come off easier anyway once the two girls are inside the apartment. Amity <em> has </em>gotten better around her crush.</p><p>“Emira is probably in the gym for a quick run,” Amity says, remembering the fake reason she invited Luz over (to meet her siblings) while the real reason remains the same: to be able to look at Luz the way Amity’s looking at her right now, slightly more confident and unrestricted.</p><p>
  <em>And probably more than a bit creepy. </em>
</p><p>“So, uh, wanna have some tea?” Amity looks away.</p><p>“Yes,” Luz nods, and her face lights up with a tiny smile instead of the usual giant grin. Perhaps it’s because Luz is in a new environment — but Amity finds it endearing nonetheless.</p><p>Then again, if Luz were to eat pasta with ketchup, grabbing it with her bare hands, Amity would still find it endearing.</p><p>But no, Luz does not eat pasta; in fact, upon Amity’s suggestion to ‘feel at home’, the brunette immediately starts rummaging through the fridge, taking out everything that has sugar. Also, sitting down next to Amity at the giant table (Amity is hot because the heating is off the charts, not because Luz chooses to sit next to her, their knees touching from time to time), Luz takes four sugar cubes in her tea ‘because it’s fun to watch them splash’.</p><p>Amity fears awkwardness, but, surprisingly, there is none. Luz starts telling Amity about her school and classes and how happy she is because she’s getting a B-plus in English, whereas in her old school she could only get a C — and Amity listens even though she can’t relate and has no idea how the grading system works in state schools. </p><p>Amity tells Luz a bit about her fencing team, and Lilith, and Luz gushes a bit about Lilith, and then Luz tells Amity about Eda, and Amity and Luz keep gushing together, and the tea is getting cold, but Amity doesn’t care because Amity is truly, undisputedly happy.</p><p>All good things come to an end, however, and the front door opens with a beep — upon which a very sweaty Emira emerges into the living-room-slash-kitchen-slash-dining-room. For the first time, Amity regrets their apartment having such an open planning, because Emira is wearing nothing but her sports bra and very revealing shorts, and Luz is looking — no, Luz is <em> looking </em>at her.</p><p>“You must be Luz,” Emira announces, throwing her sweaty towel in the general direction of the laundry room. “Nice to meet you, cutie~”</p><p>
  <em>Emira, you freaking witch.</em>
</p><p>“Oh, uh, hi!” Luz responds with a thick blush. “Y-you must be Emira!” </p><p>“Em, can you <em> please </em>get decent?!” Amity throws a kitchen towel onto Emira, as if it can cover anything.</p><p>“Sorry, Mittens, I’m just back from the gym.” Emira takes a few steps and bends over to pick up her towel, and Amity wants to cover Luz’s eyes. “Here, let me cover myself.” Emira wraps the sweaty towel around her waist.</p><p>Judging by Luz’s drooly expression, it’s <em> not </em> helping. Unfortunately, Amity is gifted with very attractive siblings, who just so happen to be twins, and Luz just so happens to be bisexual. <em> Wait, where’s—  </em></p><p>“Hey there! Luz, right?”</p><p>It’s funny how white noise can feed into the prentense of complete silence. Because Amity could have sworn that it was silent in the insulated apartment, save for the dull hum of the heating. But no, in fact, the shower was on the whole time, because the silence is deafening once it’s turned off — and then Edric steps out of the bathroom.</p><p>
  <em>Please be decent please be decent please be decent— </em>
</p><p>Edric waves at Luz, who is now torn between staring at the towel-wearing Emira in the living room and the <em> only</em>-a-towel-wearing Edric. <em> Because the goddamn idiot didn’t put on any clothes!  </em></p><p>“Oh wow! You’re twins!” Luz seems even more flustered, staring at Edric, nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. “Haha, sorry for staring, guys! My bi heart just skipped a bit.”</p><p>“Edric! Get dressed at once!” Amity shrieks, ready to launch a vase at her grinning brother. Not only are Ed and Em embarrassing her, they’re also stealing Luz’s attention from Amity.</p><p>
  <em>I swear if Em and Ed somehow steal away my crush I will murder them and hide their bodies in the dumpster where the two of them belong anyway.</em>
</p><p>“Just so you know,” Emira whispers to Luz loudly, “Amity got her good looks from us.”</p><p>“Oooh.” Suddenly, Luz is looking at Amity, no, she’s <em> looking </em> at Amity — and Amity thinks that maybe she should stop wearing oversized clothing if it means that Luz will <em> look </em> at her more.</p><p>“Yep, we’re Amity’s elder siblings,” Edric supplies, emerging from his bedroom in pants (<em>thank you Edric</em>) and a polo shirt that conceals his lats and abs well (<em>THANK YOU Edric</em>). “So, if you wanna marry her, first you’ll have to ask our permission.”</p><p>“EDRIC!” Amity screams.</p><p>“Sorry, Mittens.” Ed blows a kiss to the three girls, which, again, does <em> not </em>help.</p><p>“Aww, you have a pet name?” Luz is back to reality, it seems. “Can I call you Mittens?”</p><p>Amity wants to say that Luz can call her FuckFace The Worst, and Amity would still be fine with it, but instead she says: “You are adorable.”</p><p><em>Oh crap oh crap oh crap— </em>Now Luz will definitely catch onto her drift, and Amity’s stupid lesbian heart just couldn’t stay calm and pretend Amity is not interested in Luz and her wonderful antics and her bubbly personality and her beautiful face. Now Luz will find out and reject her and Amity will no longer be her tutor and every conversation will be strained and Luz will storm out and— </p><p>“Aww, you’re adorable too!” Luz throws her arms around Amity’s neck, much to Amity’s surprise. The green-haired girl barely reciprocates, slightly patting the other fencer’s back. “I’m so happy to be your friend, <em> Mittens</em>!”</p><p>“Yeah, sooooo happy to be your <em> friend</em>,” Emira mimics in a whisper, threatening her possible demise at the hands of her little sister.</p><p>
  <em>Well, time to finally murder Emira. Ed and I can manage on our own without the evil evil witch here. </em>
</p><p>“Oh yes, I have so many adorable <em> friends </em> too!” Edric joins in from the doorway, his brows moving at angles that directly contradict physics.</p><p>
  <em>Okay, good-bye, Edric, you’re dead too. Living alone at fourteen is hard but better than living with these two. </em>
</p><p>“Soooo,” Luz lets go too soon. “Wanna show me your room?”</p><p>Before Edric can ruin everything by mimicking Luz again in that disgusting high-pitched voice of his, Amity grabs Luz by the hand without much thinking and leads her to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.</p><p>Luz looks around in wonder while Amity wonders just how she will keep on existing in a world where Luz is in her bedroom, and they are <em> alone</em>. </p><p>“I thought your room would be bigger,” Luz says, taking in the king-sized bed (Amity likes to stretch), and the little desk (Amity likes to do homework on the wooden floor which is exclusive to her room), and the large TV — and nothing more. “Is it bigger on the inside, like the Doctor’s Tardis? Oh my God, she’s <em> amazing</em>, have you seen the new episode?”</p><p>“Uh, no, but, um, please tell me?” Amity isn’t really bashful. She is just reconsidering her entire existence because her crush is a nerd and there is a possibility of Amity becoming a nerd through kissing. <em> I really need to test this theory. </em>“Also, most of my things are in the walk-in closet cause I have my own bathr—”</p><p>But Luz is already going on about the Doctor and her adventures, and the energetic girl is pacing around the room as she does so; so Amity just sits down on her bed and smiles at Luz — not quite <em> her </em>Luz, but Luz who has planted herself firmly in Amity’s heart.</p><p>“So, what do you think of my siblings?” Amity asks when Luz is done and there are no follow-up questions (because Amity wasn’t listening, captivated by the girl). “I mean, that’s why you wanted to come, right?”</p><p>“Oh, no.” Luz smiles and takes a step towards the green-haired girl, whose brown bangs are showing very well now. “In fact, I used it as an excuse to hang out with you at your place.”</p><p>Amity has a limit. </p><p>Despite her composure, Amity has a certain limit, which, if reached, will make Amity explode like an overinflated balloon. And, while Amity has been training her limit and stretching it harder than she stretches her hamstrings, her limit of ‘I can be normal around Luz’ is already at thirty percent of its maximum capacity with that one single phrase from Luz.</p><p>“But yeah, do they, like, go to high school or something? They’re what, sixteen, seventeen?”</p><p>“Uh, they’re pre-enrolled in university.” Amity tries to reply to the actual question instead of shrieking ‘You wanted to hang out with me at my place? Like a date?!’</p><p>“At that age?” Luz gawks.</p><p>“Well, yes.” Amity groans as she is tired of everyone praising Ed and Em for being the perfect geniuses that they are. (<em>‘Genii’? Is that how you say it?</em>) “Edric passed his LSAT so he’s technically doing a year of pre-Law and then he’ll be the youngest person to go to Yale Law School. Which is good because it means he’s gonna move away and live with his Jerbo who’s going to Yale too.”</p><p>Luz just stares at Amity in disbelief. </p><p>“And Emira,” Amity continues, “has a startup that’s not quite a unicorn, but almost there.”</p><p>“Wait.” Luz grabs her phone and attacks the screen with quick, aggressive typing and swiping. “<em>The </em> Emira Blight? The head of BloodBerry?” Luz almost pushes the <em> Forbes </em> article into Amity’s face. “Wow, it seems your sister is cute <em> and </em>smart. And your brother too, oh God.”</p><p>“Yeah, um, I,” Amity almost chokes on tears because the last thing she expected was for her crush to develop a crush on her siblings — which are almost taken! Because Emira keeps videochatting with some girl from another city, and Edric is pretty much dating Jerbo, except the only people who don’t realise it are Edric and Jerbo.</p><p>“Aww, Amity, are you jealous?” Luz teases, and grabs Amity’s hand and kisses it. She <em> grabs</em>. Amity’s. Hand. And <em> kisses </em>it!! “I would never choose your hot siblings over you!”</p><p>“C-choose m-me?” <em> Is she… Is she saying she… Why… What... </em></p><p>“Of course! You’re my friend and siblings of friends are off-limits! Besides they’re, like, adults and I’m still a teen, it would be weird.”</p><p>Amity is very disappointed and extremely confused. <em> So, apparently, in Luz’s book, kissing hands is a friendly gesture. </em>Then again, what would she expect? Luz to throw her arms around her neck and start smooching her all over the face?</p><p>Actually, Amity thinks, it would be pretty nice if Luz threw her arms around Amity’s neck and started smooching her all over the face.</p><p>Instead, Luz lets go of Amity’s hand, adding to the overall disappointment.</p><p>“So…” Amity begs for her brain to cooperate. “What kind of music do you like?”</p><p>
  <em>Dammit, that’s like the most pathetic attempt at small-talk ever.</em>
</p><p>“Oh, I listen to a lot of folksy ukulele pop stuff!” Luz finally plops down on the sofa next to Amity. “Like Dodie, and Egg, and Leo — you heard of them?”</p><p>“Yes,” Amity lies. Well, technically, she doesn’t lie. Amity has heard <em> of </em>them. In the context of ‘music I’ll never listen to’. </p><p>“So what music do you listen to?” Luz queries.</p><p>“Oh, uh, mostly Disturbed, Skillet, Three Days Grace… That kind of stuff.” </p><p>“Ah, you’re a metalhead,” Luz nods her head wisely. “I guess that’s why your hair is such a pretty shade of green.”</p><p><em>My… hair? </em> Amity runs her hand through her hair absent-mindedly. Now, she has considered <em> not </em>dying her hair again, letting the natural brown show… But maybe it would be a good idea to dye her hair again? For, um, no particular reason.</p><p>“I really like how you guys all colour your hair green,” Luz remarks, and Amity suddenly wants to dye her hair <em> right now</em>.</p><p>“My favourite music is the oldies, like Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus—”</p><p>“EDRIC!” Amity roars, launching her pillow at the doorway. “What the actual fudge?”</p><p>“Em asked me to chaperone you,” Edric grins, standing in the now-open doorway, eyeing the two girls sitting on the bed in close proximity.</p><p>Amity blushes beyond belief and makes a mental note to start monitoring her blood pressure. </p><p>Luz laughs. “That’s silly, Ed. I can call you Ed, right? I mean, it’s not like we’re gonna make out or anything, right?”</p><p>“R-right!” Amity supplies and glares at Edric with such intensity that even someone like him gets the idea and leaves the room, closing the door behind him quietly.</p><p>“That would be pretty weird for us to make out, right?” Amity asks out loud, trying to assuage her racing heart.</p><p>“Yes,” Luz chirps, completely unperturbed. “I mean, if we start dating, it will make more sense.”</p><p>Amity almost chokes at the phasing. <em> “If we start dating”, not “If we were dating” </em> — denoting a possibility. Quickly, the athlete brushes off the silly notion. <em> Luz is probably not a native speaker, hence the phrasing. Spanish probably doesn’t even have conditional clauses! </em></p><p>“Aren’t you afraid of going to hell?” Luz asks, and only her mischievous smile lets Amity believe she isn’t being serious.</p><p>“F-for… kissing you?” Amity blanks. <em> Well, at least I’m making progress, what with not fainting at the idea of kissing Luz. And I can say it out loud too!  </em></p><p>“For listening to all that heavy metal?” Luz laughs out loud.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure Skillet is a Christian rock band,” Amity snorts. “Besides, I listen to music mostly to get pumped in the gym.”</p><p>“Hah, I get you! I sometimes put on Alestorm to get my heart pumpin’!” Luz is smiling directly at Amity, and Amity is slowly getting used to direct eye contact. “Besides, they’re, like, pirates.”</p><p><em>I only need one look at you to get my heart pumpin’, </em> Amity thinks, but doesn’t mention it. Just like she doesn’t mention that listening to folk metal is the most poser thing to do, akin to dying your hair black. <em> Wait a minute...</em></p><p>“Imagine that Ed works out to bebop,” Amity says instead, and Luz snorts.</p><p>Amity feels a weight falling off her shoulders. The awkwardness is passing away, and Amity can be more coherent than she was a few days ago at the lunch date. And definitely more coherent than when she met Luz for the first (<em>well, technically, second</em>) time.</p><p>So it’s okay. It’s just her. And Luz. In her bedroom. Alone. Nothing to worry about. Amity can get a hold of her flustered idiocy. As long as Luz doesn’t accidenatelly say or do something suggestive, Amity should be fine. Amity has oodles of self-control. She doesn’t semi-faint at the sight of Willow or Boscha or Skara, so she should be fine with Luz too, right?</p><p>Right?</p><p>Meanwhile, Luz scoots even closer towards Amity on the bed, her knee propped against Amity’s. “Hey, so if your brother has a six-pack and your sister has an eight-pack, does it mean you have a <em> ten</em>-pack?!”</p><p>“W-what.”</p><p>“I mean, your abs.” Luz pokes Amity’s stomach through the shirt, and Amity doesn’t even automatically guard herself because even her reflexes are shutting off. “I guess listening to all that metal contributes to abs of steel?”</p><p>“You… You want to see my abs?” Amity completely disregards the pun because her limit of ‘I can be normal around Luz’ is already being pushed. To about sixty percent.</p><p>“Yeah, but, uh…” Luz scratches the back of her head. “I can see you’re pretty shy, so it’s okay. Your abdomen is gorgeous, I’m sure.”</p><p>Amity’s is already at eighty-five percent of her limit, and it hasn’t even been a full hour.</p><p>“I mean, look.” Luz lifts her shirt a bit, and Amity faints. Well, no, she doesn’t, she’s still there, but she’s pretty sure she doesn’t exist anymore. “I’ve been trying to work out my lower abs, but as you can see the obliques are kind of pushing—”</p><p>“I GOTTA GO!” Amity screams and darts to the common bathroom, grabbing Edric by the elbow on her way.</p><p>“Don’t you dare enter the room,” Amity hisses, using the rest of her coherence to issue this warning. “Same goes for Em.”</p><p>“Why?” Edric somehow sounds both cheeky and concerned. “Is your girlfriend naked or—”</p><p>“Yes! No! Kind of!” Amity raps out, shutting the bathroom door behind her, and turns on the cold water.</p><p>
  <em>It’s gonna be a tough day.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Amity’s fifteenth birthday passes uneventfully. </p><p>Edric gives a small speech while the three of them are celebrating at home — as usual. Only one more year till Amity can be legally emancipated, he says. </p><p>And, Emira adds, sixteen is the age of consent~</p><p>Thankfully, Luz (now a fifteen-year-old too) is way too oblivious to understand the implications. Oh, and Luz is celebrating with them because Luz has become such an integral part of Amity’s life that Amity is sure she can no longer survive without Luz Noceda’s smile, her witty quips, her energising fencing, her galvanising nerdy tirades that prompt Amity to watch and read stuff she would never watch or read otherwise.</p><p>Now, Luz didn’t celebrate her birthday because apparently where she’s from people don’t really do birthdays. But Gus and Willow still dragged her to a sushi restaurant, and Amity came along and sat next to Luz and her face was the colour of tuna every time Luz tried to feed her a piece of fish from her chopsticks. Willow had way too much fun.</p><p>Luz was kind enough to even invite Boscha, but the girl rejected the invitation with her trademark flair. Amity gave Luz a guitalele because Luz had always told her, starry-eyed, how she liked the ukulele, and Luz actually kissed her. Well, on the cheek. Then Luz went on to gush to Willow and Gus about how her guitalele was “50% guitar, 50% ukulele, 100% awesome”, and Amity sat there giggling to herself because Luz giving her a peck on the cheek was a gift in its own right.</p><p>Speaking of gifts, Luz got Amity a fitness tracker for her birthday, and Amity has worn it ever since. In fact, even now, lying in bed, Amity kisses the tracker reverently as she ponders on how the last few months have become the happiest in her life.</p><p>And yet, these months have also been the most taxing. With the constant pressure for the looming championship, Amity’s grades have gone down, so now her average is 82. Which is not bad, but, for a Blight, it’s dreadful. Edric graduated with a 98. Emira graduated with a 99. No one in the history of their school ever graduated with a 100. </p><p>And, while Amity has been spending time with Luz every day, it also means that every night is a sleepless one. Amity cannot quench her thirst for more Luz, her body is too stiff, her heart is too excited, she just cannot calm down, dreamlike scenarios running through her head. Luz and Amity have become good friends, perhaps close to best friends. But it’s also a nightmare not to be dating Luz. And even more of a nightmare to basically lie to Luz every day because Amity cannot, and will not, bring herself to confess her feelings for the wonderful girl.</p><p>Thankfully, real nightmares are no longer bothering her, because Amity stays awake till three or four and then blacks out from sheer exhaustion. No more dreams, only training, and Luz, and (optionally) school. </p><p>Their sparrings grow more and more heated by the day. Now Luz is more than capable with the épée (mostly thanks to Lilith, but also Amity’s tutelage), and gives Amity a good run on the piste. And Amity forgets all bashfulness on the piste, Amity is bold, Amity is flirting with her lunges, kissing Luz with her flicks, giving Luz long walks on the beach with constant parries and ripostes. </p><p>Amity groans and looks at the clock. Yes, Amity has an actual clock on the nightstand, because screens, even with Night Screen Mode, are bad before bed.</p><p>Her phone’s screen lights up because Amity just turned off the vibration instead of turning on the Do Not Disturb mode. There isn’t much that can make Amity any more disturbed than she already is.</p><p>A message from Luz.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> &gt;Can’t sleep? ;) ;) ;) </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Amity looks at the screen, baffled. How did she— </p><p>But Luz knows her too well. Over the months it feels like Luz and Amity have gotten in sync — not the creepy kind like Ed and Em, but a real harmony. Now that Amity is fifteen— Actually, no. Nothing has changed.</p><p>Sleep-deprived, confused, upset, lovestruck, Amity begins to type:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> &gt;When my parents were around, I wanted nothing more than to be independent. To have my own life. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now I have you, Luz, and I don’t want to be independent anymore. I don’t want to lead a separate existence. I want to be a part of you. Please make me a part of you, Luz. I want you to mold me from this pile of clay, I want you to mold me and I want to swim with you in the sea of life. I’ll dive if you teach me how to breathe underwater. I love you, Luz. Please don’t hate me because if you do that will ruin my life and that sounds manipulative but all I’m asking is don’t hate me— </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Amity deletes the horrible words and, instead, she sends:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> &gt;Yeah, kind of, haha. :) </em>
</p><p>
  <em>What’s up? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Luz and Amity enter the practice holding hands, and no one pays attention. Just, one day, Luz takes Amity’s hand in hers and never lets go. Since then, that’s how they enter the little gymnasium, and no one dares point it out, not even Boscha, who is distraught with the upcoming championship anyway.</p><p>It’s the championship that’s the reason behind everything, Amity assures herself, feeling Luz squeezing her hand a bit before she lets go. For Luz, all these otherwise-romantic gestures are gestures of friendship and support, and Amity should be thankful for that. So what if Luz doesn’t like her the way Amity likes Luz? The important part is that Amity gets to hold Luz’s hand without sweating or freaking out. </p><p>Inside Luz’s hand just seems like the most natural place for Amity’s hand to be.</p><p>The two girls are late, and everyone is already lined up, with Lilith eyeing the doorway from her spot next to the line. Luz and Amity take their places, side by side, and Luz’s fingers brush against Amity’s hand one last time.</p><p>Lilith does not comment. After all, the two are inseparable, and it’s not the first time they’ve been late. Suddenly, Lilith starts the usual instructions with Boscha, not Gus.</p><p>“Boscha, you’re team captain again.”</p><p>Amity tries not to take in Boscha’s smug face or show her tiny strain of dismay. After all, it’s a symbolic title. Besides, Amity knows she hasn’t been at her best recently, so it’s totally deserved.</p><p>“Yes, the Three-Eyed Demon is back to ruling the useless plebs!” Boscha grins — it’s exceptionally rare to see the pink-haired girl this happy. Unless someone trips and falls on the piste, then Boscha feels like it made her day.</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha!” the four ‘plebs’ respond in unison. </p><p>Lilith proceeds. “Gus, good job. Keep it up and don’t get cosy.”</p><p>The boy bows dramatically, and Willow and Luz snicker. It’s nice, Amity thinks, just how much Luz fits in now. It hasn’t been half a year, and the once-newbie is now an integral part of the team, trying to be friendly to everyone. </p><p>Actually, no, Luz doesn’t have to <em> try</em>: she <em> is </em>friendly to everyone. And that is the only reason why Luz is so affectionate with Amity. Luz Noceda is the most amicable person in the world, and Amity loves her even more for that — albeit Amity’s love is devastatingly one-sided. </p><p>Heck, Luz even brought Boscha — of all people — a box of pudding for the girl’s birthday! And even though Boscha complained that it was her least favourite flavour, Amity later saw the stuck-up girl sobbing to herself in the locker room as she cradled the box and sang it a lullaby.</p><p>“Willow, switch over to endurance training. No heavy lifting till the tournament.”</p><p>“But Lilith, my forearms—”</p><p>“—can be easily conditioned with equipment and elastic bands and weightless bars.” </p><p>Willow scoffs as Lilith moves over to Luz, and Amity feels her: sometimes lifting some weights can be a huge mood-changer especially if you’re bitter or angry or upset. And Willow has every right to be bitter and angry and upset because now she is playing some online game with Skara <em> and </em>Boscha — and God have mercy on Willow’s poor soul for trying to deal with those two every single evening.</p><p>“Luz,” Lilith begins, and Luz is beaming at her because Luz is beaming at everyone because Luz is the sweetest cinnamon roll in the world — and Amity would love a taste despite her diet.</p><p>“Yes, Lilith?” Luz always responds to being called out, even though it’s customary among the team members to remain silent.</p><p>“You’re making progress with the épée, just keep in mind that your footing <em> can </em>be more versatile.” When Lilith says ‘can’, it usually means ‘must’. “Also pay more attention to your butt. Amity, that also applies to you, pay more attention to her butt during practice.”</p><p>Amity’s breath is a funny thing, because it’s supposed to enter through the nose, go into the lungs, then come out of her nose again. So how come it gets stuck in her throat? It’s not even supposed to go there (or is it? Amity is failing biology too) — and yet Amity’s breath is stuck in her throat.</p><p>Because, naturally, Amity would never pay attention to Luz’s wonderful round muscular butt (Amity does and she’s a dirty liar), but, if her coach is insisting… </p><p>“God, you’re such children,” Lilith sighs, hearing snickers from Gus and Willow. “Amity, make sure Luz moves around with her quads, not with her butt. We’re not doing squats here, we’re half-sitting on our quads, not calves and glutes.”</p><p>“R-right!” Amity finally remembers how to breathe again.</p><p>“Okay!” Luz is unperturbed (and, possibly, more than a little dumb). “I’ll pay attention to your butt too, Amity!” </p><p>Now Gus and Willow are full-on laughing, and Luz is looking around in confusion.</p><p>“That won’t be necessary!” Amity shouts, but no, she realises, she doesn’t shout because her breath has decided to go somewhere else, so all that Amity lets out is a tiny whisper.</p><p>And Amity is next, and — for the first time — the last in line during the check-up.</p><p>Lilith waits, as if pondering what to say. Finally, she says, “Amity, you’re doing nothing but cardio this week.” </p><p>Amity stares at Lilith in disbelief. <em> I honestly expected anything -but- that. </em>“But Lilith—”</p><p>“Don’t ‘but Lilith’ me!” The coach rarely shows her more stern side, but when she does, she goes full-on School-Headmistress kind of stern. “Your endurance is down, you’re out of your element, so now the treadmill is your new best friend. And the only things I want to hear are ‘yes Lilith’ and then two full hours of running.”</p><p>“But…” It’s not herself Amity is worried about. No, it’s not. It’s not that Amity is falling apart and her life is going downhill and Amity might be legitimately sick and the only cure is kissing Luz — which is unattainable. “What about Luz? I’m her tutor—”</p><p>Lilith considers it for a moment. “This week she trains under Boscha.”</p><p>“NO!” Amity shouts. </p><p>The whole room falls silent. Gus looks confused. Willow seems concerned. Boscha looks somehow interested, as if she’s surprised Amity had it in her to back-talk like that. </p><p>And Luz… Luz is serious. Luz is rarely serious. In fact, Luz is never serious. But right now Luz is looking at Amity with her beautiful brown eyes. Subconsciously, Luz licks her lips and runs her hand through her chestnut hair. </p><p>Amity doesn’t know what to think because Amity can barely register what is happening. “No,” she reiterates in a calmer manner. “I want to keep training Luz. Please! Don’t give her away to Boscha. I... I like Luz.” </p><p>That’s it.</p><p>The cat’s out of the bag now. It’s been almost half a year, and Amity has been holding up so well. But she can no longer hide her affection for the Dominican girl. Amity can no longer pretend that she is content with mere friendship. And so, Amity takes a breath, letting the world solve this for her. Whatever happens. </p><p>Boscha scrunches her nose and looks disgusted. Which is surprising because Boscha is a vocal supporter of the LGBT community (pretending to be a ‘straight’ ally). Then again, no, it’s not surprising, because Boscha hates people. And couples. And relationships. In general.</p><p>Willow looks like she’s trying to conceal an excited squeal.</p><p>“I knew it!” Gus whispers to her, “I was writing femslash about those two.”</p><p>“I know, I co-authored it!” Willow grins at a suddenly-pinker-than-usual Boscha. </p><p>“Yes!” Luz joins in, her smile back on the beautiful tan face. “I like Amity too, she’s a great tutor and my best friend, please let me train under her!” </p><p>Amity almost collapses onto her knees, partly out of relief (<em>Luz hasn’t figured it out</em>), and partly because Luz is dense beyond belief which means that Amity will never be able to date her because, if the two of them were to miraculously start dating, Luz would never <em> understand </em> that they are dating even if Amity took Luz to church and kissed her in front of the altar. Luz would probably think they’re ‘married buddies’ or something.</p><p>Boscha chimes in. “It’s fine, I don’t wanna train an oblivious moron. Lilith, can Amity please keep the dummy to herself?”</p><p>Lilith scans the five with her (very cool but very scary) two-colour eyes. “Okay. But you will both have to stay after the session, we’re not wasting our precious time with the national championship looming over us.”</p><p>That’s all Amity needs to hear. Before she can say something she will regret, Amity briefly thanks Lilith and runs to her locker to drop the gear and change and take her earbuds — and runs to the old, simple treadmill in the corner to start, well, running. </p><p>Even though the treadmill is worse than the ones they have in their condo building, Amity almost manages not to trip, running on a steady nine, her sides hurting already after half an hour. Turns out, Lilith was right: Amity’s endurance <em> does </em>need a boost. So do her grades, and Amity makes a promise to herself to cut down on sappy romance novels and focus on studies instead. And it’s not a usual Amity-being-a-liar promise; it’s an actual one.</p><p>Still, the run is monotonous, and Amity doesn’t notice everyone leaving. Everyone but Luz. Luz, who — living up to her density — taps Amity’s shoulder. While Amity is still on the treadmil.</p><p>Naturally, being a trained athlete with years of experience, Amity doesn’t lose concentration and performs a well-practised routine of yelping and stumbling over to faceplant into the ground. Except Amity actually faceplants into Luz. </p><p>Luz catches Amity, and Amity ends up nose-first in Luz’s chest. Which, to be honest, is fine for her final resting place, but still, Amity gets up and, lest she either embarrass herself more or kiss Luz on her stupid face, suggests that they start the training.</p><p>Luz is anything but monotonous.</p><p>It’s inspiring, honestly, just how dedicated Luz is to mastering the épée. Every session Amity notes that the girl is trying something new, something different — something she wouldn’t attempt with foil.</p><p>Today, unfortunately, it’s the flèche.</p><p>“I told you,” Amity repeats, scoring yet another point as Luz practically flies onto her épée. “The flèche is a rare and pretty useless technique. Unless you perform it perfectly and at the right time, the most it’s gonna do is impale you on the opponent’s weapon.”</p><p>“Our weapons can’t impale!” With a grunt, Luz tries the flèche again — flying forward like an arrow, her legs crossing for a mere second to give her a propelled boost. Flying directly on Amity’s épée, that is.</p><p>“Another point to me.” Amity sighs, still tired and sore from all that running.</p><p>“But… Uh… Right of way?” Luz laments with a tiny chuckle.</p><p>“There’s no right of way in épée, remember?” Amity blinks behind her mask. “Besides, how the heck does right of way apply in this situation?” <em> Honestly, Luz is just making excuses now. </em></p><p>“Oh? Then what do you say to this?”</p><p>And, just like that, Luz drops her épée and tackles Amity to the ground, taking her by surprise — and totally unarmed. No, literally: the moment Luz drops her weapon and takes off her mask, Amity takes off hers and drops her épée. An unarmed opponent is not an opponent anymore.</p><p>Luz’s mask is off, and Amity can feel her heated breath on her own maskless face. Luz smells like Gatorade and sweat and cinnamon. Luz smells like hope and risk and devotion. Luz smells like love.</p><p><em>I want to kiss you so badly, </em> Amity thinks, her breath stuck in her throat. <em> I love you so much it’s not funny. I want to be with you, I want to date you, I want to hold your hand and never let go. </em></p><p>“Ha! That’s how you win ‘em!”</p><p>And, just like that, Luz is up and grinning victoriously, standing over Amity and offering her a hand. </p><p>“Everything good?” Luz enquires, her eyes looking directly into Amity’s soul.</p><p>“Yes.” Amity pushes every romantic notion to the back of her mind and gives Luz a tiny smile, taking the girl’s hand to get up. “Everything’s good.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please tell me you got the reference. :D</p><p> </p><p>In case you didn’t:</p><p>Luz: “And now Willow, Gus, and I, wait until nightfall and then leap out of the rabbit, taking Belos by surprise — not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!”</p><p>Amity: “Who… leaps out?”</p><p>Luz: “Willow, Gus, and—”</p><p>Willow: “...”</p><p>Gus: “...”</p><p>Luz: “Okay, new plan: running away!!!”</p><p>Don’t worry, Luz, everyone knows that Bonesborough is a silly place. </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amity Blight gets it together. Luz and Amity get closer than ever. The tournament gets even closer.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Amity keeps typing out her essay, her fingers running across the keyboard like crazy. Once she has an idea, she puts it to paper. The screen. Whatever!</p><p>The point is, Amity is <em> done </em> with Ancient History. It’s nothing short of miraculous, just how much effort Amity has put into her classes for the past month, but it’s almost June, which means Amity <em> needs </em>to push her average up. And, if Maths is hopeless, at least this year, Amity can still make it work.</p><p>Right now, her average is 89, and Amity will not rest until she finishes the school year with a 90. No, literally. Amity does <em> not </em>rest, all her waking moments are spent on studies, training, and sleep. </p><p>Turns out, all she needed to do was cancel every subscription except for music. And find some motivation. And Amity found the motivation within herself because Amity is strong and determined and Amity can admit she screwed up with her classes and training and sleep, but now Amity is back on track.</p><p>All it takes is a perfectly-timed schedule, no distractions, and half a pill of Melatonin before bed. Yes, Amity got medical advice, she isn’t stupid. Okay, maybe Amity <em> is </em>stupid because, honestly, all this Ancient Rome stuff is urging her mind to take a vacation, but Amity does care about herself.</p><p>Almost as much as she cares about Luz.</p><p>The problem is, this perfectly-timed schedule of hers leaves very little time to Luz. Amity could pretend that it hurts, but, in reality, it’s better this way. </p><p>This way, Amity gets to make her conversations with Luz more productive because they only videochat twice a week now.</p><p>This way, Amity can go to bed without the nagging anxiety that always follows her stupid mess-ups around Luz, and Amity’s pulse is back to her normal resting rate of 56.</p><p>This way, Amity gets to calm down on days when she doesn’t see Luz because the gym and the training are enough. Amity is actually skipping some gym days (but not the training) because she needs more time for class. And… Because on the rare days when she doesn’t see Luz at all, Amity can finally relax. There is no pressure to impress her crush, and, frankly… the more time Amity spends around Luz, the worse it becomes. </p><p>Since Luz will never reciprocate her feelings, Amity will learn to talk to her like a friend. <em> Just friends, that’s what we are and that’s what we’ll always be.  </em></p><p>Yet, all this distance makes the time spent together all the more valuable. Because, while initially Amity fears alienation, the distance doesn’t make them grow apart. If anything, their bond is still the same.</p><p>
  <em> Except... </em>
</p><p>Luz is still Luz, funny, cheerful, and Luz tells Amity more stories because now Luz has a life of her own and Amity is happy. Amity tells Luz about her studies. It’s all the same. </p><p><em> Except</em>…</p><p>In the half a year that’s passed, Amity has come to the bitter conclusion that Luz does not see her as a potential girlfriend. Perhaps Luz doesn’t see <em> anyone </em> as a potential boyfriend or girlfriend, and that soothes Amity a little. Luz is always very friendly, and Amity is (almost always) very flustered when Luz does something brash or suggestive — which is never in bad spirit, but mostly because Luz is impossibly dense. Not only to Amity’s crush on her, but generally as to what constitutes flirting and teasing. Because Luz does <em> a lot </em>of that with Amity, and yet always changes the topic and carries on with their friendly dynamic.</p><p>
  <em> Except… </em>
</p><p>Except now Luz is sometimes calmer. Not sombre, no. Not lamentful or sad or depressed. More… contemplative. Less energetic. And, well… more touchy.</p><p>Amity knows that Luz considers all that physical contact part of friendship, and with Amity being Luz’s best friend, it’s only natural that Luz shows Amity more affection than anyone.</p><p>Sometimes Luz takes Amity’s hand, and it’s fine. Sometimes Luz touches Amity’s shoulder, and it’s fine. Sometimes Amity and Luz are walking hand-in-hand, and it’s okay. Sometimes Luz takes Amity’s hand and presses her lips against Amity’s knuckles and doesn’t let go.</p><p>And Amity almost doesn’t faint at that.</p><p>In the past few weeks Luz’s touches have grown more profound. More intense. When Luz takes Amity’s hand, she starts rubbing circles into it with her thumb. A massage, she says. When the two girls are sitting together, Luz puts her head on Amity’s shoulder and rests there. When the two of them are walking, Luz sometimes grabs Amity by the waist — not forcefully, not dragging her, but ever so slightly, watching Amity’s reaction.</p><p>Amity doesn’t know how to react. </p><p>It’s been half a year, and Amity has given up on the idea of ever dating Luz. Amity knows that Luz doesn’t realise the extent of her longing, her devotion to Luz, her unfiltered attraction.</p><p>But now that Luz has introduced all those gestures into their friendship, Amity is once again confused. Because, while Luz has made it perfectly clear that the two of them are friends — best friends at that — those gestures are nothing if not romantic. And Amity thinks that even Luz can see it, because sometimes Luz will blush and avert her beautiful eyes. </p><p>Perhaps, Amity thinks as she closes the laptop, satisfied with the outcome, Luz might be in denial. The strongest denial anyone has ever faced.</p><p>But it’s making things easier for Amity. When Luz is soft and gentle and physical, Amity’s reactions are less severe. When Luz is brash and confident and suggestive, Amity is flushing and fainting and forgetting how the language works. But when Luz is kissing her knuckles…</p><p>The doorbell rings, and Amity springs up merrily, drawn from her contemplation. It must be Luz, because she called and texted like a bajillion times, and also the guards called Amity to notify her, so it’s definitely Luz.</p><p>It’s been a week since Luz has been to Amity’s place, and Amity has been expecting her because, well, Amity is done with her studies and her workout, so, even if Luz says or does something that’ll make Amity faint, it’s no big deal.</p><p>And, if Luz is quiet and touchy-feely today, Amity can shamelessly enjoy some proximity.</p><p>“Hi, Amity! So I saw this video of a kitten eating this giant squid, and we <em> have </em>to watch it!” Luz rushes through the doorway, giving Amity a quick hug. “How are you doing, Mittens?”</p><p>Luz is sweaty (it’s hot outside) and grinning and altogether wonderful — but as far from her touchy-feely mood as possible. Also, Luz is calling her ‘Mittens’, which inevitably reminds Amity of her siblings, which is the worst possible thing ever, especially when she’s with Luz.</p><p>“You can always use the code, you know?” Amity says, putting her friend’s shoes aside because of course Luz just kicked them off to rush to the kitchen for some water.</p><p>“Well,” Luz calls out from the kitchen, and then there is the sound of running water and a series of audible gulps. “I’ll make sure to barge into your apartment whenever I please — when we get married!”</p><p>Amity is proud of herself because, instead of tripping over herself and falling, she merely blushes and sighs to herself. <em> Thank you, Luz, for turning my dream into a joke.  </em></p><p>“Edric’s friend Jerbo has the code too,” Amity replies to keep up the conversation, moving to the kitchen, where Luz is drinking her second glass. “And I’m pretty sure the two bufoons are too oblivious to ever get married.”</p><p><em> Okay now I’m just projecting. </em>And the fact that Luz can’t see that Amity is projecting only escalates the situation. </p><p>“Well, yeah,” Luz agrees, throwing the freezer door wide open.</p><p>Then the girl victoriously emerges with an ice-cream. <em> Honestly, Luz and her devotion to sugar. </em>“But still, using the code is pretty intimate. It’s like, you and me, we aren’t taking a shower at the same time, even though it would save a ton of water.”</p><p>Yes. Yes it would. Unfortunately, it would not save Amity’s sanity, because Amity is fifteen, and Luz is fifteen, and if Amity sees Luz naked, Amity will have to die. She will just have no other choice. No mortal should gaze upon Luz like that and remain in the realm of the living, because clearly Luz belongs to the realm of the angels. </p><p>Besides, Luz would probably, like, wash Amity’s back and chirp about how they’re ‘shower buddies’ and what a friendly thing it is to do. And Amity would probably say something like ‘oh wow environment’ and die, and Amity doesn’t want her obituary to read ‘Died in the shower with her friend. Her naked friend. Didn’t even have the guts to ask her friend out. What a pathetic life.’</p><p>“Hey, is it okay if I drop by the gym?” Luz asks, licking her ice-cream, and Amity tries very hard to be nonchalant and not pay attention to Luz and her lips and her tongue. “I didn’t do my cardio today, and the gym doesn’t feel like home without you.”</p><p>Amity wants to remark that the gym never feels like home because it’s <em> the gym</em>, but instead she nods intently, happy that Luz is feeling more at home. Well, enough to use the condo’s fifth-floor gym, at least. “Sure thing, your sessions are thirty minutes, right?”</p><p>“Yup!” Luz nods, doing some jumping jacks while the ice-cream cone is still clutched in her hand — which is making Amity just a bit anxious. “I don’t last that long, sorry!”</p><p>Well, Amity is no longer anxious because Amity is old enough to understand that reference. And Amity knows Luz well enough to know the cheerful teen finds quips like this perfectly fine in friendly conversations. <em> We’re the ‘friendsiest friends’ indeed. </em></p><p>As soon as Luz disappears (going to the gym with the ice-cream, what a novelty), Amity sits down on the sofa and tries some paced breathing to calm down her gay heart. Luz is weird, legitimately a marvel, and Amity can’t read her at all. </p><p>The only thing Amity can do is wait until Luz quiets down and enters one of her calmer phases, and then Amity can enjoy some more of Luz being soft and touchy and almost-romantic. Well, to be entirely frank, to Amity all of Luz Noceda’s touches feel romantic, but that’s just because Amity is a useless lesbian who is uselessly in love with Luz.</p><p>Surprisingly, Luz is back in a couple of minutes, still ringing the bell instead of using the code like Amity suggested. <em> Seriously, why have a code lock if no one takes advantage of its convenience? </em></p><p>“So, uh...” Luz actually seems bashful, which Amity (naturally) finds cute. “I was gonna go to the gym, but um, your brother is there and he’s making out with some guy?”</p><p>“Edric is <em> what</em>?!” Emira erupts from her bedroom where she has been conveniently giving Amity the space to be around Luz. But it seems that there <em> is </em>some sort of Twin Magic because every time Edric’s name is uttered in the context of Edric screwing up (which is about ninety percent of the time), Emira magically surfaces, regardless of time or distance.</p><p>“That fucking—” Emira shrieks. “I will break his fucking neck, that fucking idiot! Can’t he see that his sweet wonderful Jerbo is pining for him? And that stupid moron Edric would trade <em> that </em> for a quickie in the gym shower?!”</p><p>“I didn’t need to have that mental image,” Amity remarks from the doorway, but Emira already storms out, almost knocking Luz and Amity off their feet.</p><p>“Uh, wow, that’s awkward,” Luz says, and Amity can’t believe her because Luz is seemingly incapable of feeling awkward. </p><p>Luz kicks off her sneakers without untying them. “I mean, why do you guys even <em> have </em> a shower at the gym if the only people who go there are residents here and have their own showers anyway?”</p><p>
  <em> Ah, -that- kind of awkward.  </em>
</p><p>“So… do you wanna watch the video of the kitten eating the squid?” Amity asks, tossing her hair (freshly-painted because Luz likes it green so Amity likes it green too) — and Luz freezes for a moment.</p><p>“Wow…” Luz legitimately <em> licks </em>her lips, and Amity thinks that long hair is indeed a better look on her than expected. “I always forget how cute and hot the three of you are. I guess I might be Blightsexual instead of bisexual.” </p><p>“That’s a silly pun and—” Amity freezes as well. Which is funny, because it’s incredibly hot outside. “Wait, the <em> three </em> of us?”</p><p>“Yes, you’re a Blight too, right?” Luz looks like she’s both back to being confident <em> and </em>quietly frozen at the same time. “You’re actually much cuter than your siblings.”</p><p>Okay, that’s it. Luz has just called Amity cute <em> and </em>hot, and Amity will have none of the usual flustered mess-up that she is. Amity will confront Luz. Right now. (And, perhaps, test if her friend's skull density has remained on the same level.)</p><p>“You just called me cute,” Amity says, closing the distance with a tiny step.</p><p>“Yes, you are very cute, very pretty, and, well, we’re fifteen, so I guess it’s not weird if I say you’re also sexy?” Luz actually <em> puts </em> her freaking <em> hand </em>on the back of Amity’s head! “Every time we touch, I feel this sort of electricity and it’s weird and kind of exciting.”</p><p><em> It’s… that simple? </em>Amity gulps. All that is left is to lean in and kiss Luz, and all of this tension will be gone forever.</p><p>Unfortunately, before Amity can advance (for the first time since meeting Luz), the door beeps and Emira comes in, followed by a very flustered Edric… and Jerbo.</p><p>“Crisis averted!” Emira announces, and Amity automatically jumps away from Luz. “Apparently, these two dimwits finally got together, hallelujah.”</p><p>“Um, so, uh, apparently,” Edric begins, sweaty and with a disgusting hickey on his neck, “Jerbo likes me as much as I like him.”</p><p>“Yeah, you don’t say,” Amity deadpans, not only mad at the Twins for ruining the moment, but at herself for jumping away, startled — so that now Luz is looking at her with a tiny sign of betrayal.</p><p>
  <em> Perhaps, unknowingly, I have just ruined the only chance I had at kissing Luz and dating her. Congratulations Amity, you freaking idiot. This is why we can’t have nice things. </em>
</p><p>“And, as shocking as it is, Edric likes me the way I am,” Jerbo adds, interlacing his fingers with Edric, a tiny blush surfacing on both boys’ faces.</p><p>Emira huffs, walking past the two into the living room, where Luz and Amity are standing at a small distance. Because Amity is an idiot and Emira couldn’t just wait fifteen extra freaking seconds.</p><p>“Can you believe that Jerbo wanted to work out with me because he was in love with me?” Edric says, his eyes drawn to the brunette boy.</p><p>“Yes!” Jerbo, Emira, Amity, <em> and </em>Luz reply in unison. And it’s the first time Luz has met Jerbo.</p><p>“Wow, Edric is really dense, huh?” Luz remarks, and Amity stares at her in disbelief.</p><p>
  <em> Really, Luz. REALLY? </em>
</p><p>“With all this pining,” Jerbo says softly, “I could never believe that Edric has been attracted to me too.”</p><p>“Of course I am!” Ed exclaims, grabbing Jerbo’s hand and kissing it all over. “You are perfect and I just want to hold you and kiss you all over—”</p><p>“Aaaand that’s my cue!” Luz exclaims, rushing to put on her shoes. “Sorry, the blight— I mean, the plight of being bisexual! Too many cute girls and guys in one place.”</p><p>Something tells Amity it’s not the real reason behind Luz Noceda’s swift departure. Something tells Amity that the real reason is their recent proximity — and the interruption that broke it.</p><p>Luz waves at the three Blights — and Jerbo — just before leaving. “But just to clarify: Amity’s the cutest!”</p><p>Amity just stares blankly at the space in front of her, where there was a Luz, and now there is a closed door. Jerbo cautiously steps out of the doorway (smart boy). But Amity doesn’t hurl anything, no, Amity is better than that. Instead, she walks back towards the sofa, takes a pillow and screams into it like she’s never screamed before.</p><p>“I like her and I almost kissed her but I didn’t and now she probably thinks I don’t like her,” Amity says into the air, staring blankly at the pillow in her hands. “For half a year I’ve been trying to romance her, and now she finally started showing interest, and now I gave her mixed signals. I am the biggest screw-up in the history of screw-ups.”</p><p>Emira silently approaches Amity and wraps her up in a hug. Edric almost opens his mouth — most likely to bring up a screw-up worse than Amity — but proceeds to mimic his sister from the other side.</p><p>Safely wrapped in her siblings’ embrace, Amity feels slightly better. Not better, no, because Amity’s point about being a screw-up still stands because Amity might have just set her relationship with Luz back — more than a notch. Okay, maybe a little better, yes, because Emira is humming to her, and Edric is patting her back, and Amity can feel slightly small and vulnerable, which is what she needs most right now.</p><p>And Luz, Amity needs Luz so badly, more than she needs to breathe. But Amity ruined everything by jumping away because Amity should have just kissed Luz right there and put an end to all this dance-around, like Edric and Jerbo did. <em> God, for once Edric is a shining example of something other than stupidity.  </em></p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, Amity can see Jerbo standing in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot reluctantly.“Come here, Jerbo,” Amity mumbles from beyond the double-Blight wall. “Join the pity party.”</p><p>However, just as Jerbo finds enough courage to join in the family moment, Amity’s phone rings and she shrugs off her siblings with practised ease because it’s <em> Luz</em>, and it probably means that Luz doesn’t want to be friends anymore and— </p><p>“Hey, Amity, okay, this might sound weird, and I totally forgot to tell you because you were so cute and I freaked out but I really want you to meet my Mom. Is it okay?”</p><p>“Yes,” Amity whispers into the phone because Amity’s brain has decided enough is enough. “You are so cute too,” she adds, and then there’s a sound of Luz smacking her lips against her phone.</p><p>“That was a big smooch,” Luz’s voice clarifies. “Okay, see you at practice!”</p><p>Amity puts down the phone, staring at the wall. Why do they even have painted walls, the climate is perfect for wallpapers? The paintings on the walls don’t match the colour anyway. Yes, staring at the wall is definitely more fun than trying to comprehend what the heck is happening. </p><p>“So…” Amity says to Emira and Edric and Jerbo, who all seem eager to hear the development. “Uh, she wants me to meet her mother.”</p><p>Emira looks at Amity, then breaks into a grin. “Edric, start printing out wedding invitations.”</p><p>“NO!” Amity screams, but it’s way too late for that.</p><p>Jerbo puts his hand on Amity’s shoulder sympathetically. “Hey, if it’s any consolation, I’m gonna marry your brother eventually, and I’ll have to live with his antics every single day.”</p><p>“No,” Amity says, but a smile makes its way onto her face. “It doesn’t offer me any consolation whatsoever.”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Entering the gymnasium feels weird today.</p><p>First of all, Amity almost kissed Luz yesterday. Second of all, Luz wants Amity to meet her mother <em> tomorrow</em>. Third of all, Luz is not holding Amity’s hand when they enter the spacious room. </p><p>Luz is leading Amity <em> by the waist</em>.</p><p>And, while Amity is enjoying every second of it, she cannot help but notice Luz Noceda’s advances, which make Amity wonder if, perhaps, it might be time to talk to Luz about what ‘romance’ means. Because Luz clearly doesn’t get it. Luz tied Amity’s shoes in the locker room and <em> kissed </em>Amity on the knee and said “Amity, you’re so beautiful today”, for God’s sake. </p><p>And the two are still considered ‘friends’. </p><p>As the two friends enter the gymnasium, Amity can see Boscha and Willow already in place, and Boscha is… hugging Willow? While Willow seems to be crying? <em> I swear if pudding hurt Willow, I’ll—  </em></p><p>“Hey, it’s all right,” Boscha says in a tone that Amity has never heard from her before, addressing Willow but completely oblivious to everything else. “Please calm down, okay? It’s just the stress from the upcoming tournament, we’ll get through, okay?”</p><p>“Hi, Willow, hi, pudding!” Luz greets the two loudly, letting go of Amity’s waist (<em>damn</em>).</p><p>“—and you’re stupid and I hate you!” Boscha blurts out, almost dropping Willow on the bench. “Cuz you are, uh, pathetic, and I hate you and we’re not together!”</p><p>Amity blinks. “Yes, pudding, everyone knows you’re not together.”</p><p>Gus waltzes in, chewing on something — which means that he’s either gonna puke on the piste or Lilith is gonna kill him for eating before training. Either prospect seems very bleak.</p><p>“Is Boscha dating someone?” Gus greets Luz and Amity with a wave. “Someone who’s immune to her poison?”</p><p>“Ha, the only person I would date is myself.” Boscha crosses her arms with a huff, her already-pink cheeks turning even pinker.</p><p>“Yes, pudding, we know,” Willow smiles through tears.</p><p>“And I would definitely not date Willow!” Boscha calls out in the air, facing away from everyone.</p><p>“Yes, yes, you made it perfectly clear.” Amity proceeds to the bench, hoping to score some more proximity with Luz. Yes, it’s not dating, but sitting in Luz’s lap might be the next best thing.</p><p>Unfortunately, Luz sits down next to Amity. <em> But </em>puts her legs onto Amity’s knees. Which is, coincidentally, the hottest thing in existence.</p><p>“I just want to emphasise that I would definitely <em> not </em>date Willow.” Boscha somehow manages to sit on the very edge of the bench, still not looking at her peers.</p><p>“Okay, okay, sheesh, way to—”</p><p>“And I don’t even care that Willow is smart and cute and sexy and beautiful and every moment spent by her side is a gift, I want it to be known I would <em> not </em>date her, ever!” Boscha’s tone gets even louder as her voice starts to tremble.</p><p>Luz rubs her chin thoughtfully. “I think Boscha might be interested in Willow.”</p><p>Gus stares at the girl as if she has just uttered the stupidest thing ever. “No, didn’t you hear? She just said she isn’t.”</p><p>Luz blanks at the boy. “And they call <em> me </em>the dense one.”</p><p>“All right, fun time is over!” Lilith announces, walking into the gymnasium with gravitas, her expression sterner than usual.</p><p>“Aww, but I always have so much fun here!” Luz laments with a grin, and Amity kind of wonders if Luz will still keep grinning if Amity tackles her to the floor and gives her a hickey. Because Amity is <em> not </em>a pervert who wants to romance her best friend in every conceivable way.</p><p>“Now, in case anyone has forgotten,” Lilith proceeds while the fencers line up in the familiar fashion, “we’re participating in the national championship in August. And, in case anyone is still blank on what it means for Hexside, it’s the <em> national </em>championship, people. This tournament might well decide your future as competitive fencers.” The coach smiles. “But, you know, no pressure.”</p><p>Yes, indeed. Amity doesn’t feel any pressure whatsoever. None. None at all.</p><p>“Gus,” Lilith begins in the usual manner, eyeing the boy up and down. “More endurance training. Three hours of treadmill per day.” </p><p>“But Lilith,” Gus starts wailing, “you told me ‘no workouts after eight’!”</p><p>“Then squeeze in those hours <em> before </em> eight.” Lilith shifts a little, and her (objectively gorgeous) long hair slightly deters Amity’s attention from Luz. “Now, Willow, I’d like you to pay more attention to the upper positions. There <em> will </em>be left-handed opponents at the tournament, and you can’t always parry from the fifth.”</p><p>“Will do, Lilith,” Willow responds, and Amity is proud of Luz for bringing this new tradition to their team.</p><p>Because actually replying to Lilith’s instructions makes the whole thing seem more like an exchange. A conversation. And, of course, it helps Amity calm down her racing heart at whatever Lilith has prepared for Amity ‘Miss-Slacker’ Noceda. <em> Did I just think of myself as ‘Noceda’? Oh God why do I—  </em></p><p>“Amity, congratulations, your grades are up again.” Lilith smiles maternally, and Amity just melts. Except Amity is in shock and can’t believe what she’s hearing, at first, but after that Amity melts. “I’m proud of you.”</p><p>Amity can barely hold back tears welling up in her throat. Of course, Lilith is not her mother. Of course, Lilith is not even a real parental figure in Amity’s life. Lilith has been training Amity, nurturing her, but Lilith wasn’t there for Amity when Amity needed someone. No, it was always Edric and Emira. But Lilith is the closest Amity has to an actual adult who also cares for her. And Amity tries her best not to break into tears in front of the whole team.</p><p>“Wow, um, thank you,” Amity rasps out, trying to downplay the praise — and her own reaction to it. “I didn’t know you were monitoring my grades.” <em> Wonderful, Amity, just act like a douche to cover your softness, why don’t you. What an effing cliche. </em></p><p>“Oh, Emira sends me info about your grades and Edric tells me about your attendance,” Lilith clarifies. “My job here is to make sure you are well-developed all around, not just sports-wise.”</p><p>“Thanks, Mom,” Amity mumbles, looking down. “Lilith! I mean, thanks, Lilith. Miss. Coach.”</p><p>For a few moments, everyone just stares at Amity, who feels like she is burning the floor with the heat of her sheer shame. Then again, it’s also perfect because if Amity burns the floor, it will make the ground swallow Amity faster, and that is precisely what Amity needs right now.</p><p>“Ahem.” Lilith clears her throat. “Luz, stop trying to attempt the flèche.”</p><p>Luz already opens her mouth (with those wonderful perfect teeth just <em> look </em>at those teeth!) for a retort, but Lilith lifts her finger, and Luz shuts up.</p><p>“No, Luz, learning the flèche takes too much of your time and effort, and it’s no use if you can’t master it. Devote your attention to other techniques instead.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Boscha interjects, “like the technique of pushing your tongue down Amity’s throat~”</p><p>Amity shrieks and almost jumps at Boscha to slash her throat, except for the whole being-frozen-and-stuck-to-the-floor thing.</p><p>“Why would I push my tongue down Amity’s throat?” Luz genuinely sounds confused, the lovely wonderful beautiful impossibly dense idiot of a genius that she is. <em> Wow, I am severely conflicted.  </em></p><p>“Because you wanna kiss her all over, duh!” Boscha grins.</p><p>“Boscha, that’s enough!” Willow steps in. Not literally, of course, because no one would dare physically step out of the line-up until Lilith is done. Then again, Lilith doesn’t interfere in any intra-team communications, so Willow is the next most mature person.</p><p>“Shut uuup, Willow,” Boscha replies in a tone that should only be reserved for replying to Boscha.</p><p>Everyone falls silent and looks at the pink-haired girl, dumbfounded. Amity even forgets that merely moments ago she was dying because of Luz and tongue and throat being used in the same sentence. Hearing Boscha mirror the team’s catchphrase is… mortifying.</p><p>“Wow, this feels so wrong,” Gus whispers. “Like Samuel L. Jackson wearing a pink tutu.”</p><p>Luz nods. “Like the devil entering a church to pray.”</p><p>“Like playing <em> Inside the Fire </em> on a mandolin,” Amity joins in. Then realises she’s the only metalhead on the team. “It’s a song by Disturbed,” she explains. “It’s <em> very </em>distorted.”</p><p>“Oh come on, you plebs, I just took your game and turned it around.”</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha,” Amity replies automatically, and suddenly all is good with the world, and everyone seems immediately relieved.</p><p>“Crisis averted!” Luz exclaims gleefully and grabs Amity by the neck, drawing the girl close and kissing her on the cheek. “Amity, my saviour!”</p><p>Yes, Amity is a very good saviour. Very capable. Except Amity cannot save herself from nearly fainting at the sudden feeling of Luz Noceda’s lips on her cheek. But, apart from that, Amity can tackle pretty much anything. Like, right now, Amity really wants to tackle Luz to the ground and— </p><p>“Phew, pudding, never, <em> ever</em>, do that again.” Willow breaks Amity’s Luz-related daydreams. </p><p>Then again, all of Amity’s daydreams are about Luz. It comes with the job. The job of being a gay flustered mess, that is.</p><p>“I <em> was </em> feeling slightly uncomfortable, Boscha,” Lilith admits. “Let’s stick to the usual dynamic, at least before the tournament.” <em> Ha! Lilith is totally on Team Shut Uuup Boscha, I knew it! </em>“Oh, and stop being mean to your crush. Otherwise, you’re perfectly ready for the national championship.”</p><p>
  <em> Or Lilith is secretly Team Pudding and just hides it well. How come Boscha -always- gets praise from Mo— Lilith, Miss Coach Lilith.  </em>
</p><p>“I’m not— she’s not—” It’s actually hilarious to see Boscha dismayed. “I don’t have a crush on Willow!”</p><p>Lilith grins — which, unusual as it is, only accentuates her beautiful bicoloured eyes. <em> Haha, ‘bi’-coloured, as in— </em>“I never said who it was.”</p><p>Leaving a blushy Boscha (truly a rare sight to take in), Lilith takes a step back, her eyes (which are always so so gorgeous) inspecting the team. </p><p>“All right,” the coach finally announces, “if all of you agree to be quiet and respectful — and not your usual festive selves…” Lilith looks over the five. “I have invited a special guest today to help us with the preparations. For the tournament, that is. Which you need to win.” Lilith stumbles a little, mumbling to herself. “Um, it sounded more epic in my head.”</p><p>Luz raises her hand. “Is it Adam Sandler?”</p><p>“What— No, why would it be—” It seems Luz Noceda’s natural ability to stupefy people extends even to Lilith. “No, it’s not Adam Sandler. It’s Coach Bump.”</p><p>Immediately, there are murmurs among the teenagers, and Amity must admit that the excitement at meeting the mythical figure is stronger than Amity’s crush on Luz. And that’s saying something.</p><p>Hieronymus Bump, aptly called The Butcher, an acclaimed military veteran who fought at a time when hand-to-hand combat was still prominent. A fantastic maestro of the épée, with seventeen gold medals to his name and countless silvers. The Butcher was competitive longer than anyone else, only becoming a coach close to fifty. </p><p>And what a coach he is! It’s no wonder his pupils (including Lilith and Edalyn Clawthorne) call him <em> The </em>Coach. With a capital ‘C’. </p><p>The man that walks into the little gymnasium is anything but fear-inducing or in any way imposing. In fact, he looks like a kind, old, slightly chubby grandpa that has just dropped by for tea-time to tell his stories of olden-slash-golden days. The only thing that Amity finds curious about the legendary athlete is that his hair is dyed a darker shade of pink than Boscha’s, almost purple, hiding the grey of age well.</p><p>“Wow, that’s one fancy centennial!” Gus says quietly, and Lilith groans and visibly regrets inviting the legend into the present company.</p><p>“I’m only eighty-nine, thank you very much.” Bump’s voice isn’t even all that rusty or creaky! “And I have still retained my perfect eyesight and hearing.”</p><p>“Sorry, sir, Mister Bump, Coach!” Gus blurts out, straightening, as if in a military platoon.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Augustus,” the man replies, shaking Lilith’s hand and taking his stand next to her. “I remember your father, give him my regards.”</p><p>“You… You know my father?” Gus’s eyes widen beyond his usual wide-eyed expression.</p><p>“Well, while I only teach foil and épée, he was on my junior team.” Bump picks up Boscha’s épée from the floor. “He was really fierce with the sabre, a shame he went into mass media instead of sports.”</p><p>“Wow,” Gus whispers, “my Dad was so ordinary and now he’s suddenly so cool.”</p><p>Luz raises her hand and Amity is torn between ‘aww adorable’ and ‘please shut up before you say something stupid’. “How many people did you have to kill to become The Butcher?” <em> Okay, definitely the latter. </em></p><p>“Oh, that silly nickname!” Bump laughs while Lilith keeps dying of embarrassment. “No, I’m actually very amicable. Now, my grandfather’s great-grandfather served with the Royal Musketeers in France, now <em> he </em>was a real butcher.”</p><p>“Wow, like he killed a bunch of enemies with his épée?” Gus asks, starry-eyed.</p><p>“Yes,” Bump replies with a smile full of teeth, “but he was also a butcher. He sold various meats in Marseilles. Musketeers weren’t exactly paid well.”</p><p>“So it’s not like The Three Musketeers?” Luz asks in disappointment.</p><p>“Of course not!” Bump laughs. “In reality, if the Cardinal sent his goons after you, you were dead. Unless you were my grandfather’s great-grandfather, of course. He impaled maybe twenty of them before he got captured.”</p><p>“So… cool…” Gus whispers, clenching his fists in excitement.</p><p>“Yeah, mass-muder is <em> sooo </em>in fashion,” Boscha huffs, looking away.</p><p>“Shut uuup, Boscha, nobody likes you,” Gus responds automatically.</p><p>“Oh come on!” Boscha scoffs and tosses her pink hair with well-practised ease. “It’s always grandpa and his stories!”</p><p>Willow actually reaches out to look the pink-haired girl in the eye. “Dammit, pudding, how dare you call The Butcher a grandpa! Show some respect!”</p><p>Bump smiles, looking at Willow. “Ah, Boscha, is this the girl you like so much?”</p><p>Boscha’s cheeks suddenly match the colour of her hair. “N-no, grandpa!”</p><p>“Wait…” Willow’s eyes alternate between Boscha and The Coach. “The Butcher Bump <em> is </em> your grandfather?!”</p><p>“Great-grandfather,” Bump corrects with his not-very-butcher-y amicability.</p><p>Boscha looks over the room with pride. “We’re a long dynasty of fencers.”</p><p>Willow eyes Boscha. “Your mother is a truck driver and your father is a gardener.”</p><p>Luz gasps. “Wait, Boscha actually has normal parents? Not like multibillionaires?”</p><p>“How dare you speak about my parents, you fucking simpleton!” Boscha snaps. “My Mom <em> owns </em> the truck company so of course she tests her products. And my Dad tends to the gardens of Arabic sheiks and the like. <em> And </em>they are both fencers!”</p><p>“Calm down, pudding, it’s okay.” Willow’s tone gets softer and her eyes shine with a kindly light.</p><p>“It’s very sweet that your crush is calling you ‘pudding’,” Bump remarks. “You do like pudding a lot.”</p><p>“She’s <em> not </em> my crush!!” Boscha shrieks. “Why does no one believe me?”</p><p>“Maybe because you don’t believe it yourself?” Amity supplies as the previous team captain and the resident Boscha-in-line-keeper. “Lilith, we are very sorry for being rowdy. Coach Bump, we are sorry and we’d like to listen to your lesson, please.”</p><p>“Honestly, there is more to show than to tell.” Bump leans on Boscha’s épée a little — which is something fencers are told to never do, but then again someone with decades of experience probably knows better. </p><p>“But I do have a small introduction. We think of fencing the same way we think about boxing or skiing or tennis, whereas we should be paying more attention to the East.”</p><p>Everyone is silent — which is a feat — and Lilith finally looks decently relaxed. At least for the time being.</p><p>“Kung fu and karate are not just about sportsmanship,” Bump proceeds. “They are also about philosophy and inner harmony. We have forgotten that fencing also had a foundation, albeit a much simpler one.”</p><p>Lilith looks at everyone sternly — mostly at Luz and Gus — but, thankfully, neither asks ‘Which, which foundation?’ obnoxiously. (Amity is very proud of Luz.)</p><p>“Before pepper sprays and tasers, before grenades and guns, the only way you could defend yourself was with a rapier. Because in the streets they would come at you with knives and blades and other assorted weaponry, so your only choice was to learn how to fight.”</p><p>Bump eyes the five fencers, his gaze full of gravity. “Are you ready to learn how to fight?”</p><p>“Yes, sir!” the five respond in unison. (Amity responds more out of fear than out of a sense of fake unity, but still.)</p><p>“Great, that’s what I like to hear most.” The Coach nods. “Apart from ‘here’s your quesadilla’. Seriously, they take <em>way </em>too long to bring your order at Chili’s.”</p><p>Gus stares at Bump in awe (like he has been for the past twenty minutes), Willow looks surprised, Luz looks offended, and Amity <em> is </em>surprised because, frankly, Amity assumed that Coach Bump is some sort of cosmic entity that requires sustenance in the form of souls of his dead enemies and not poorly-prepared pseudo-Mexican cuisine.</p><p>“What?” Bump shrugs with his wide, massive shoulders. “I like Tex-Mex, fight me.”</p><p>Nobody moves. Lilith grins, apparently knowing very well what’s going to happen next.</p><p>“No, I mean it.” What happens next is the old man motioning towards the piste. “Fight me.”</p><p>After a moment of silence and contemplation (Amity contemplates running away and dropping fencing for good), Luz takes a step forward. </p><p>“I will fight you, sir!” the Latina announces pompously, beating her chest with a fist. “For I, as a proud Dominicana, will stand in support of my Mexican brothers and sisters and their cuisine. Because a <em> quesadilla </em> is only supposed to have cheese. If it has meat, it’s a <em> gringa</em>.” The degree of pompousness is definitely dropping the longer Luz is speaking. “But, I mean, not like Amity, who is a gringa because she’s American—”</p><p>“I’m not American,” Amity supplies.</p><p>“Well, you’re white and you speak perfect English and you’re beautiful—”</p><p>“Meep,” Amity provides another meaningful remark.</p><p>“Okay, my point still stands,” Luz concludes, even though no one in the whole room seems to understand what point the girl is talking about. Because clearly she hasn’t made any. </p><p>“Do you know that Chili’s is actually a very popular chain in Mexico?” Gus asks. “My Dad once—”</p><p>“No one wants to listen about your food adventures,” Boscha hisses, while Luz gears up and follows Bump to the piste.</p><p>“Shut up, pudding,” Gus concludes kindly, not even drawling out on the insult. </p><p>Meanwhile, Luz and Bump have both masked up and are standing on the piste, with The Coach explaining something to the girl in a low voice that barely reaches Amity’s ears.</p><p>Amity really wants to get closer — both to get an educational experience and to make sure that her potential girlfriend isn’t gonna get murdered — but, in the absence of Lilith’s permission, every fencer remains frozen to the spot.</p><p>“Oh, for God’s sake, go take a look!” Lilith exclaims, waving her arm with an <em> I’m-so-done </em> expression. “Not that you have a modicum of discipline anyway.”</p><p>Amity has no idea what a ‘modicum’ is, but Amity knows that Luz is on the piste, and Luz has already lost six points by the time Amity approaches.</p><p>“Damn!”</p><p>Seven points. Amity winces. For an (almost) ninety-year-old, The Butcher is sure extraordinarily fast. His movements are far from rapid, but they are swift and precise.</p><p>“I was hoping you would show me a fight,” Coach Bump says from behind the mask, and now his voice does sound creaky. Then again, it is no wonder because the man <em> is </em>old, and fencing is extremely taxing, both physically and mentally.</p><p>“I was just going easy on an old man!” Luz responds and takes control of Bump’s épée for a moment with a sharp bind. </p><p>Yet, just as the girl prepares for a counterattack, The Coach flicks his weapon and the tip bends enough to touch Luz’s sleeve. </p><p>“Point,” Bump announces and stands down, his weapon by his side. “This was a good move. Were you going for a croisé or a liement?”</p><p>Luz blinks as soon as she takes off her mask. “Uh… I was going for a bind… I have no idea about the specifics,” she admits honestly, “but I’m happy you’re impressed.”</p><p>“Oh, I am!” Bump nods, but still doesn’t take off his helmet. “In return for this marvellous battle, I will teach you the technique you’ve been trying to attempt.”</p><p>Luz gasps, and a hopeful smile appears on her face. “You’ll teach me how to make Maruchan with cold water so I don’t have to wait till it gets cold?!”</p><p>Amity wants to laugh and die of shame and throw up in disgust at the same time. <em> Honestly, my Luz is weird. </em> Then Amity realises that Luz is not <em> her </em>Luz, and Amity’s old pal, soul-shattering dismay, is back, greeting Amity’s other old pal — sad, quiet despair.</p><p>“No,” Bump drawls, “because it’s disgusting. Please eat your noodles while they’re hot. I’m going to teach you the flèche.”</p><p>“Yes!” Luz puts on her mask and starts jumping. “Thank you thank you <em> thank </em> you! I’ve been trying to do it for so long, but Lilith told me it’s a useless move.”</p><p>“I did <em> not</em>!” Lilith shouts out, blushing like a schoolgirl. </p><p>“Did too!” Luz calls back, and Amity wonders which of her two crushes is more childish. <em> Definitely Luz. </em></p><p>“Contrary to popular belief,” Bump pontificates from behind the mask, “a flèche is a very useful technique if performed properly. It is, however, a finishing technique and you should only use it as a last resort. Because, while the opponent never expects it, a slight misstep would lead you straight onto their épée.”</p><p>“But I tried, and tried, and tried,” Luz laments, “and I still rush into Amity’s épée.”</p><p>“Well, let’s see.”</p><p>As per Coach Bump’s request, Luz tries to perform the flèche, jumping off the piste slightly as she tries to reach the far-off opponent.</p><p>And naturally, ends up on Bumps’s épée.</p><p>“Okay, here is the thing.” Bump takes his distance once again, moving out of reach. “Look at my footwork.”</p><p>Suddenly, the old man stumbles, falling over, and Amity almost shrieks to rush to his aid, but Lilith stops her with a knowing smile.</p><p>The next second, Bump’s hindleg pushes against the piste, propelling him forward, while the front leg is planted firmly on the piste. </p><p>“Point,” he says calmly to the baffled Luz, who never had the time to react.</p><p>“With the flèche, you aren’t lunging. You aren’t leaning. You are <em> stumbling</em>.” Bump explains. “To fly like an arrow, first you have to let go of the bow string.”</p><p>Luz takes off her mask, looking at Bump with enlightenment. “Wow, so that's why they call you <em> The </em>Coach.”</p><p>“Yes,” Bump agrees raspily, taking off his mask. “Also because I coached pretty much every Olympic champion of the past thirty years. Now put your mask back on and let’s carry on.”</p><p>For a while, Bump teaches Luz the flèche and finally lets her go with a promise of doing more extensive practice (on Luz’s side) and eating more actual Mexican food (on Coach Bump’s side).</p><p>Then Bump moves on to Amity of all people, and Amity actually manages to score a point. And take a lot of pointers from the old, wise man. Amity already makes a mental chart with all the areas for improvement.</p><p>Willow lasts longer than The Coach, and Bump commends the girl for her endurance. Yet, neither Willow nor Gus — who comes next — manage to score a single point.</p><p>Boscha’s épée is in Bump’s hands, so Willow graciously offers her weapon, and Boscha graciously snaps and blushes and after the battle Bump ruffles his great-granddaughter’s hair, and everyone coos, and Boscha snaps again, and everyone starts rubbing Boscha’s hair, and Amity is calm and happy and content.</p><p>“So, Amity, my Mom’s gonna pick you up tomorrow, is it okay?” Luz says after practice, and Amity is no longer calm nor happy nor content.</p><p>“I’m very nervous,” Amity admits and is actually thankful that her relationship (non-relationship) with Luz has become more open. Or, well, open enough for Amity to admit her fears without becoming a puddle of jelly.</p><p>“Aww, don’t worry, Mittens!” Luz should <em> not </em> use Amity’s nickname. Ever. “Just think about it as a rehearsal for when you’re gonna ask my Mom for my hand in marriage!”</p><p>“M-marriage?” Amity drops her mask because it’s heavy and not because Amity’s arms turn into noodles. Okay, maybe they did turn into noodles, but it’s because of all the fencing, and not because of Luz.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Amity, I’m just kidding!” Luz gives Amity a hug and walks off with her duffle bag. “See you!”</p><p>“See you,” Amity whispers and sits down on the floor of the locker room instead of the bench. Because Amity <em> does </em> want to marry Luz. And Amity is <em> not </em>kidding.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Luz’s mother actually picks Amity up after school, and Luz is already in the car, and Boscha scoffs, but Amity doesn’t care because Amity sees Luz and nothing else matters.</p><p>Well, except the fact that Amity is face-to-face with her crush’s mother. Who is basically the stepping stone towards Amity’s potential marriage with Luz Noceda. So Amity needs to make a perfect, perfect, <em> perfect </em>first impression.</p><p>“Hello, Miss Noceda, it’s hot outside, I’m very hot, your daughter is super hot!”</p><p>
  <em> ...Nailed it, Amity. The final nail into my coffin, that is. </em>
</p><p>“Oh yes, Mom, this is Amity, we’re best friends, I like her very much!” Luz immediately intervenes, and it’s all good. Except the part where Amity is the biggest screw-up in the history of screw-ups, but yeah, apart from that, everything is fine.</p><p>“So, how are you liking my Luz?” Camila Noceda asks, and Amity dies inside.</p><p>“Very much,” Amity replies, and it’s the honest truth.</p><p>And then Amity remembers that she hasn’t introduced herself. “Oh, um, Miss Noceda, I’m Amity Blight,” Amity says before she can screw up some more like the effing disaster that she is.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, Amity,” the woman replies, eyes on the road, while the two girls are (very close together) on the backseat. “I’m Camila Noceda, please call me Camila. You can keep calling me ‘Miss Noceda’ if you feel like it, but please don’t call me ‘doña Noceda’, it makes me feel old.”</p><p>Amity nods enthusiastically. “Sure thing, doña Noceda!” <em> Amity, you effing screw-up. </em></p><p>“And how are you liking my Amity, ma?” Luz once again saves the day, throwing her arm around Amity’s neck.</p><p>Amity almost chokes because Amity would want nothing more than to be <em> Luz’s </em> Amity.</p><p>“Your Amity is very nice.” Camila gives Luz a warm smile, turning her head at the stoplight. And then gives Amity a knowing one.</p><p>Amity freezes all over. <em> Seriously. Is Luz literally the -only- person in the world who doesn’t realise I’m in love with her?! Even her Mom can see that! </em></p><p>“I know, right?” Luz kisses Amity’s (very red, very warm) cheek. “She’s my best friend, I like her very much!” </p><p><em> I wanna marry you and live with you and kiss you every single moment of my life, </em>Amity thinks and places her head on Luz’s shoulder. </p><p>Luz starts actually petting Amity’s head, and Amity purrs like a cat in bliss. <em> Seriously, if this isn’t what romance is supposed to look like, I don’t know what is. But, apparently, in Luz Noceda’s world, this is still just friendly behaviour. </em></p><p>“Aww, Ma,” Luz drawls, “Amity’s so cute! Can we adopt her?”</p><p>The green-haired girl opens her eyes.</p><p>Amity doesn’t want to get adopted because if Amity gets adopted, Amity will be Luz Noceda’s sister, and Amity is not an incestous pervert. Amity is just a normal average pervert, thank you very much.</p><p>“Oh, actually, never mind,” Luz amends, patting Amity’s head some more. “If we adopt Amity, we’ll be sisters and we won’t be able to kiss each other on the mouth.”</p><p>Amity drops her phone. And her dignity. And her last bits of coherence. “I’m not kissing your daughter on the mouth please don’t kill me!” Amity shouts because Amity doesn’t want to be known as The Evil Daughter-smoocher.</p><p>“Oh, Amity, why did you drop your phone?” Luz asks innocently (<em>or she’s just way too good at messing with me</em>), picking up the device and handing it back to Amity — which frees Amity from Luz’s arm, much to the Blight’s dismay.</p><p>“B-because kissing on the mouth?” Amity supplies with the eloquence of a rusty épée. Which is also blunt. And broken. And old. And… rusty.</p><p>“Well, I was talking more theoretically,” Luz supplies, and Camila wisely says nothing, smiling to herself behind the wheel.</p><p>Amity wants to theoretically pin Luz to the ground, theoretically run her hands through Luz’s hair, and theoretically press her lips against Luz’s and kiss Luz until she blacks out from sheer euphoria. Theoretically.</p><p>The house is relatively small, but then again it’s a detached property on the outskirts of the city, not a centric apartment complex like the Blight residence. It’s… cosy, for lack of a better description. It does look a bit generic, but it feels like home even from the outside.</p><p>And from the inside, because as soon as Amity steps in, she is greeted with pictures of Luz, and Amity wants to squeal and pinch Luz’s cheeks and steal all those pictures for herself.</p><p>“Oh, we wear shoes around the house,” Luz clarifies, seeing Amity’s eyes wandering around the entrance. “But here, I got you some slippers!”</p><p>“Thank you, you’re so thoughtful,” Amity puts on the bunny slippers which are comfy and, coincidentally, the cutest slippers ever. “I know it’s your culture and everything, but I can’t bring myself to wear outdoor shoes indoors. I guess that’s just what growing up in a cold climate does to you.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Amity, when we get married, we won’t wear shoes indoors,” Luz sing-songs, going to the kitchen.</p><p>Camila passes Amity with some bags in her hands. One glance at turned-to-stone Amity is all she needs as a mother and a medical professional. </p><p>“Luz can be <em> very </em>dense,” Camila says, and Amity springs back to life, grabbing one of the bags and eliciting a smile from the older Noceda. “Up until sixth grade, she was telling everyone that Santa was female. Because, well, I’m a single mother and—”</p><p>“S-santa isn’t real?” Amity whispers, making a mental note not to tell Edric. Or Emira. </p><p>The two make their way to the kitchen, where Luz is already taking out every single sugar-containing thing she can find. “When we get married, we’re gonna have a special kitchen for desserts!” Luz calls out in her brand chipper manner, and Amity dies inside in her brand dying-inside manner.</p><p>“I… I actually wanna marry you,” Amity whispers, and <em> oh no </em>Camila hears it because the woman rubs Amity’s hair gently and Amity cries.</p><p>Luz stops her movements and rushes to her friend’s aid, while Camila takes her hand off Amity’s hair. Amity is sobbing, and it’s disgusting, and Amity hates herself so much but Amity’s mother never rubbed Amity’s head, and it feels so good and Amity doesn’t deserve such kindness and Amity is just bawling at this point.</p><p>“Ma, what did you do?!” Luz sounds accusing and stern, and Amity wants to say that Camila did nothing wrong, but the tears and saliva prevent her from uttering anything.</p><p>“Nothing, mija, I—”</p><p>“I wanna be petted like that!” Amity finally wails, collapsing into Luz’s embrace. “I wanna be rubbed and I wanna be hugged and I wanna have lullabies because my stupid dead parents never did any of that!”</p><p>Luz is now rubbing Amity’s head and hugging her and humming a lullaby, but that is not what Amity meant. Because when it’s Luz, it’s different. When it’s Edric and Emira, it’s also different. When it’s Camila, it’s… the right thing. Maternal. Protective. Shielding little Amity from aught and all.</p><p>“I’m sure your parents loved you in their own special way.” Camila joins the embrace.</p><p>“No they didn’t.” Amity sniffs and buries her face in Camila’s chest. </p><p>In a few minutes, Amity calms down and can finally breathe. Guilt sets in immediately, guilt and burning shame because Amity is a weak, pathetic moron who let herself mentally collapse like that in front of her crush’s mother.</p><p>“I’m really sorry, Miss Noceda.” Amity sniffs, rubbing the snot off with her T-shirt. (<em>How quaint.</em>) “It’s probably just the stress from the upcoming tournament.”</p><p>Camila’s smile is warm and bright and gentle, but not torching or blinding or condescending. “You don’t have to apologise for anything, Amity. This is your house now.”</p><p>“Thank you, Miss Noceda.” Amity manages a smile. And manages not to break into tears at how beautiful all of this is. </p><p>A kind, loving mother is something that Amity never had, with Ed and Em the only adults being there for her. And, even though Amity is a horrible evil person who wants to romance Luz, Camila, for some reason, is very kind and nice to Amity.</p><p>Meanwhile, Camila has unpacked the bags, so Amity joins in and helps her potential mother-in-law sort out the groceries. And, while Amity is not as neat as she hopes, Camila seems very pleased with Amity’s help and ruffles the girl’s hair — and Amity doesn’t even cry tears of joy.</p><p>Then they all cook dinner, the three of them, and Amity <em> does </em> cry tears of joy because this is the happiest she’s ever been, and Camila holds her and hums her a lullaby, and then Luz joins in and Amity gets hot and sweaty because the Nocedas’ house does not have air conditioning, and <em> not </em>because Luz Noceda’s presence around Amity’s body is a heating factor stronger than the Sun.</p><p>When Amity helps Camila wash the dishes (because Amity is a good girl with good manners who also wants to become a good daughter-in-law), the older woman suddenly stops her and squats down, inspecting Amity’s knees with both eyes and fingers.</p><p>Amity’s first reaction is to flinch — which she does successfully.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Camila says with a smile at Amity’s discomfort, “I’m not gonna give you a physical, I just want to take a look. I’m a nurse.”</p><p>“Oh, can I give Amity a physical?” Luz chimes in, appearing from the living room with a bag of potato chips (<em>seriously, Luz? Right after dinner?</em>) and a Coke. “I wanna give Amity a physical!”</p><p>Amity also wants Luz to give her a physical examination, but, unfortunately, Camila gets up and shakes her head. “No, it’s just unusual to see such strain on your knees at such a young age.”</p><p>“Well, I, uh, I am a fencer,” Amity replies, not sure how to reply without somehow contradicting Camila’s medical expertise. “We sit a lot on our quads.”</p><p>“You do realise they’re called <em> quad</em>riceps because the muscle has <em> four </em>heads?” Camila asks, and Amity nods. “Well, I believe that due to wrong foot placement, you are neglecting your outer calves, which shifts the weight to outer quads instead. If you want, I can get you to an expert in biomechanics—”</p><p>“Sure thing, Ma,” Luz jumps into the conversation as Amity almost begins to hyperventilate out of sheer overwhelm. “As soon as Amity and I get hitched, I’ll take her to <em> all </em>the doctors!”</p><p>Before Amity can either lose consciousness or utter something that would rival her siblings’ stupidity, Luz grabs Amity by the elbow and drags the green-haired girl to her bedroom.</p><p>Amity has been to Luz’s bedroom before. Briefly. Well, okay, Amity has pretty much never been to Luz’s house, aside from occasional drop-by visits when Luz needed it — and when the two were in the area. Because Luz Noceda’s house <em> is </em> pretty far from the city centre, and Amity is <em> not </em>a quaint-outskirts-mall-roaming kind of girl. Amity thrives where the action is.</p><p>Except right now Amity cannot thrive because the idea of being in Luz’s bedroom, the door <em> closed</em>, is sucking the life out of Amity. And Amity should probably reconsider her inner wording because ‘sucking’ is <em> not </em> the word she should be thinking while sitting on Luz’s <em> bed</em>, with Luz sitting next to her.</p><p>Then Luz takes Amity’s hands in hers.</p><p>Amity melts slightly, and perhaps it’s the heat outside, or perhaps it’s the heat inside because this might be the continuation of where they left off. In Amity’s apartment. Next to each other. Almost…</p><p>“Amity, may I kiss you?” Luz asks seriously — and perhaps a bit too formally.</p><p>“Yes!” Amity blurts out because there can be no other answer to that question and this is the catharsis Amity has sought all this time.</p><p>So Luz leans in and plants a tiny peck on Amity’s cheek.</p><p>To say that Amity is disappointed would be to say nothing. This gesture is nothing new, Luz has kissed Amity like that many times. <em> Then again… </em>This time, for some reason, Luz has asked Amity’s permission. Could it mean that Luz is finally coming to realise that this sort of gesture might be interpreted as romantic?</p><p>That <em> Amity </em>is interpreting it as romantic?</p><p>“Hey, this thing I said about getting married…” Luz whispers, rubbing circles into Amity’s hand. “It’s… It’s not weird, right?”</p><p>“Why would it be weird?” Amity whispers back, knowing very well <em> why </em>it would be weird.</p><p>Luz’s knee is pressed into Amity’s, and Amity feels a mighty need to date Luz, and, perhaps, the fulfilment of said need would make Amity’s heart beat at a normal pace again? Because right now her pulse is way above her normal resting rate.</p><p>“Because I want to spend an eternity with you,” Luz says earnestly, and Amity wants to kiss Luz’s face, no less earnestly. “Sorry, I, um, I’m not being too pushy or anything?”</p><p>“I love how intimate we’re becoming,” Amity whispers and turns into a well-boiled purple beetroot. </p><p>“I… I love being friends with you,” Luz says, and Amity’s heart sinks. <em> ‘Friends’ is the real F-word. </em> “Everything is very strange, and I, um… I don’t know how to express myself properly. But I… I can try to show you.”</p><p>Luz takes Amity’s hand and presses it against her lips. “Is it okay?”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Amity nods, intent to never push Luz further than what Luz is comfortable with.</p><p>Then, Luz cups Amity’s cheek with her palm. “Is this okay too?” Luz’s voice is vibrating, and Amity has never seen her this serious before.</p><p>“Yes…” Amity whispers, her eyes interlinked with the soul-piercing eyes of the girl before her.</p><p>Then, Luz wraps her arm around Amity’s waist and Amity nearly moans. “Is this okay?”</p><p>Amity nods, her breath pacing up. “Yes.”</p><p>Then, Luz presses her thumb against Amity’s lips, and her hand is trembling. “Is this…” </p><p>
  <em> ‘Never gonna give you up~ Never gonna let you down~’ </em>
</p><p>Amity almost falls off the bed, and, while Luz takes some time to fish out her phone from the very tight and tiny pocket of her jeans, Amity comes to the realisation that:</p><p>1) Luz almost kissed Amity.</p><p>2) Luz has awful taste in music and should change her ringtone.</p><p>3) Amity accidentally got rick-rolled at the most important moment of her life.</p><p>Bearing that in mind, Amity tunes into Luz’s conversation. Because, while the two of them still aren’t dating, Luz will become Amity’s wife eventually so it’s okay for Amity to listen in to Luz’s phone conversations. At least Amity hopes so. But if it isn’t, Amity will turn to her lawyer brother for help.</p><p>
  <em> Wow, we aren’t even married and I’m already planning our divorce. Truly I am a strategist of the highest calibre.  </em>
</p><p>“Sure thing, Eda, my Mom will drive me,” Luz is saying over the phone. “I’ll see you there.”</p><p>There is a small pause during which Luz is listening to whatever Eda is saying to her on the phone and Amity is admiring Luz and her facial features.</p><p>“No, Eda, you cannot flirt with my mother. Bye, see ya.”</p><p>Luz puts the phone down and looks at Amity. “So you know how I spend every summer at Eda’s place?”</p><p>Amity nods.</p><p>“I’m going there soon.” Luz blushes a little, which is always unusual for the bright Latina, but always welcome and a pleasure to Amity’s eyes.</p><p>Amity nods again.</p><p>“Do you wanna spend the summer with me?” Luz says suddenly, her voice breaking up a little in the end, intonation trailing off. “At Eda’s place? Just the two of us? And, well, Eda.”</p><p>“W-what?” Amity gasps because Amity has been <em> this </em> close to finally dating Luz in the past few weeks and it has kind of become her personal obsession and Amity has fixed her grades and sleep so surely Amity is allowed to have an obsession like that? <em> I mean, we all obsess with the national championship anyway, so why not pursue this championship of my own? </em> Especially considering that Amity is not gonna press Luz, and let things unroll at their own pace, and Luz seems like she might start realising something (<em>wow that might be an overstatement</em>) and spending the summer with Luz will increase Amity’s chances like <em> woah </em>and is Amity hyperventilating?</p><p>“Sorry, I’m sorry.” Luz looks away in regret because Amity is definitely hyperventilating. “I just, um, I really like spending time with you. Having you in my life is the best thing ever, I just, um… sorry, I shouldn’t tell you.”</p><p>“No, please… Please tell me.” Amity manages to calm down her breath enough to speak. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Luz.” Apart from getting a lifetime 25% discount at the retailer that sells Amity’s favourite protein cookies, but Amity’s point still stands.</p><p>“I, um, I want to be able to be alone with you. Hold your hand when we talk.” Luz looks legitimately bashful, and it’s legitimately adorable. “I, I think it’ll help me figure out a few things I need to figure out.”</p><p>“Please tell me more.” Amity is squeezing Luz’s hand right now, because Luz is <em> here</em>, and Luz is not going anywhere, and Amity needs this tension to finally go away. But Amity is gonna take baby steps.</p><p>“I l-like it when we’re together.” Luz is looking away, so Amity takes her by the chin to push her face in the right direction. In Amity’s direction, that is.</p><p>“I like it when we’re together too,” Amity says with the boldness she never had before. “Besides, I’m dying to meet the Russian Rapier.” <em> Way to ruin the romance, Amity.  </em></p><p>“Good.” Luz gulps and takes Amity’s hand and gently pushes it off her chin. “That’s good, so, uh, you’ll come to the Owl House with me?”</p><p>Amity blinks, and barely notices that Luz is still holding both her hands now. “The… Owl House?”</p><p>Luz grins, a jump back to her usual self. “Oh, you’ll see.”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Okay.</p><p>Eda’s house is… definitely… something. </p><p>First of all, the owl motif is far from elusive. The house looks like a hut-on-bird-legs from an old Russian fairy tale. There is an actual door knocker in the form of an owl, and the backyard is populated with wooden poles, on which various owls land and fly off periodically, setting Amity’s anxiety levels up.</p><p>And yes, it is because of the owls and not because Amity is going to spend the summer with her crush. Edric gave Amity a long and arduous talk about the importance of express consent, and Emira gave Amity a pack of finger condoms. Amity is still torn about which was worse. </p><p>The inside of the house is owl-related in many, many ways, starting with old creepy paintings and feather-woven rugs. There is an actual <em> nest </em>in the corner of the living room, because sure, why not. Beats bean-bags any day.</p><p>In addition, Edalyn Clawthorne, the great Russian Rapier, the olympic champion, <em> loves </em> shiny stuff. Amity can literally <em> see </em> herself in every reflective surface scattered around the seemingly-infinite house. <em> I cannot possibly imagine how much bad luck I’m gonna be in if I break one of these giant mirrors.  </em></p><p>Luz tells Amity that Eda is gonna be here in a while — Camila is waiting for her in the car — so Amity follows the enthusiastic girl upstairs. The steps are wide, so the girls go up side-by-side, both dragging their suitcases. <em> A backpack would be so much better.  </em></p><p>Upstairs, there is another bathroom (<em>oh no we’ll have to share a bathroom what if—</em>) and three doors leading to three bedrooms. Naturally, Luz merely shows Amity Eda’s bedroom — and, besides posters of herself (how narcissist is that?) and medals on the walls, Edalyn’s bedroom is a mess. <em> Maybe there is a reason why ‘Edric’ and ‘Edalyn’ start with ‘Ed’, </em>Amity the Conspiracy Theorist thinks as she stumbles upon something. Something that is— </p><p>“What the fudge is that?” Amity shrieks, backing into the wall. “What in the effing world is that effing thing?!”</p><p>“Aww, I was hoping you’d swear for real!” Luz laughs, tapping her foot against the giant brown tube running parallel to the wall. “That’s Hooty.”</p><p>“What the heck is a hooty?”</p><p>“Hooty is like a pipeline connecting and simultaneously protecting all the communications inside the house,” Luz explains. “And beyond. He’s practically endless.”</p><p>Amity stares at the giant brown pipe and, for a second, it seems to her that it shifts. The Owl House must be playing tricks on her. “This is wrong,” Amity utters. “On so, so many levels.”</p><p>And then a black cat walks out of the guest bedroom — to be Amity’s bedroom for the summer — and Amity completely forgets everything else and squats to offer the back of her hand to the amicable kitty, who approaches her eagerly and starts rubbing himself on Amity’s arm.</p><p>“His name is King cuz he thinks he rules the world,” Luz provides, and Amity already loves King and King can rule over Amity because Amity is very happy to be a cat’s servant — like any human worth their salt.</p><p>“Aww, he’s the sweetest baby ever!” Amity coos, rubbing the cat’s chin as he stretches and emits a half-meow that’s more squeaky than the wooden floor of the Owl House.</p><p>“You’d be <em> such </em> a perfect girlfriend.”</p><p>Amity stops petting the lovely cat — much to his dismay — and slowly turns her head towards Luz, who is standing over her breathlessly.</p><p>“I, I mean, for someone!” Luz exclaims, blushing the way only Amity is capable of. “I mean, you’re so beautiful and kind and smart and so good with animals. You’d be a perfect girlfriend for some lucky girl!”</p><p>Amity stands up because Amity is <em> done </em> playing games. “Would I be a perfect girlfriend for <em> you</em>?” Amity asks, maintaining eye contact. <em> It seems when Luz is flustered, I get more confident. Like a game of tug-of-war.  </em></p><p>“Hey, kids!”</p><p>Aaaaand Amity completely forgets everything that is Luz-related (<em>sorry, Luz!</em>) because right there, right in front of her, stands — in the flesh! — the one and only, the greatest foil fencer of all time, the Russian Rapier, Edalyn Clawthorne.</p><p>Edalyn’s grin is a pumped-up version of Luz’s, and her gorgeous silver mane is envy-inducing. And, the best thing, Edalyn’s eyes are…</p><p>“Wow, your eyes are the same colour, erm, colour<em>s</em>, as Lilith’s,” Amity says, completely disregarding good manners (such as greeting Edalyn) and her crush on Luz (which <em> almost </em>resulted in a kiss-slash-date-slash-something-bigger-than-just-friends).</p><p>“Of course.” Eda tosses her hair, and Amity feels like she suddenly has a <em> new </em> crush. “Lily <em> is </em> my sister.”</p><p>“Great!” Amity blurts out, trying to remember that her heart belongs to Luz, and Luz only. “Does that mean I can call you aunt Edalyn?”</p><p>“What.” Eda blinks.</p><p>“What.” Amity blinks back.</p><p>“Okay, I’m gonna leave you two for a bit and get unpacked!” Luz announces, visibly reddish — and Amity remembers that Luz called her a perfect girlfriend, and Amity should probably pursue that. Later. Because right now, God, it’s <em> Edalyn Clawthorne</em>, and Amity needs to make a good impression (unlike the disaster that Amity was when meeting Miss Noceda).</p><p>“Hiiiiii,” Amity says dumbly, still in disbelief that she’s looking at the great Russian Rapier. Then she giggles, no less dumbly, “hihihihi hehehe.”</p><p>“Ah, I see,” Eda nods, “Luz fell for a stupid one.”</p><p>“No,” Amity drops the grin to replace it with a socially-acceptable smile, “I’m actually very— Wait, Luz did <em> what</em>?”</p><p>“That kid talks about you day and night.” Eda wiggles her eyebrow, and Amity’s mouth runs dry.</p><p>“She, she does?” Well, it doesn’t come as a surprise, considering that Luz and Amity almost kissed. Twice. In the span of a mere week.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s into you but she just doesn’t get it yet,” Eda explains, and Amity’s gut does a flip. <em> Seriously, how much MORE explicit can I be for Luz to realise—? </em></p><p>“I wanna marry her,” Amity blurts out, then pushes a hand against her mouth.</p><p>“Well, kid,” Eda grins, snorting at the teenager in front of her, “first you gotta win that championship, all right?”</p><p>“Right!” Amity nods, blushing and taking a step back, making sure not to trip over Hooty. <em> God, why does it have a name?  </em></p><p>“And now,” Eda whispers in a tone louder than her actual voice, “I’m gonna go flirt with Camila, and you keep Luz occupied so that she doesn’t go full commando on me.”</p><p>“Okay!” Amity meeps, her perverted mind lost in all the ways she can keep Luz ‘occupied’.</p><p>Luz emerges from her bedroom, and, for some reason, the tan girl still retains some of her reddish colour, as if she has been waiting for Eda to leave… to talk to Amity?</p><p>
  <em> Okay, Amity, don’t say anything stupid. </em>
</p><p>“Hey Luz, so Eda told me to keep your mouth occupied— your <em> mind</em>, your <em> mind </em>occupied. Keep. That is. I mean.”</p><p>
  <em> Wow. Like, I knew I was stupid, but I didn’t know I was -this- stupid. </em>
</p><p>“Amity, um…” Luz looks towards the wall (the non-Hooty wall), averting her eyes. “I want to drop by in the evening to spend some time with you. In your bedroom. Is it okay?”</p><p>“Of course it’s okay!” Amity exclaims, her heart beating slightly faster. <em> Come on, Amity, grasp at this straw! </em> “We can have a sleepover!”</p><p>Inside Amity’s mind, tiny versions of Edric and Emira are jumping around and shouting how proud they are of their adventurous little sister.</p><p>“Uh…” Luz looks reluctant and even more quiet (no, Quiet, with a capital Q), and Amity chides herself for her stupid enthusiasm.</p><p>“Sorry, Luz, I—” <em> Dammit, my advances have ruined everything! Truly it was better when I was a pathetic flustered mess, because I am clearly -not- a great flirt. Flirter. Flirtist? Whatever! </em></p><p>“No, it’s not you,” Quiet Luz says, finally looking at Amity. “I’m just afraid that if we have a sleepover, I will start kissing you and I’ll just keep kissing you, and I won’t be able to ever stop.”</p><p>“O-okay!” Amity exclaims, hoping it didn’t sound too much like an invitation. Because it totally was one. </p><p>
  <em> Seriously, what the fudge is going on?! Are we… Is this… Does Luz see me as a girlfriend? What if she thinks we are already dating?! Because I swear if we make out and Luz says ‘that’s what friends do’, I’m gonna riot. </em>
</p><p>“I am not good with words — or feelings,” Luz admits — as if Amity doesn’t already know that. “Serious feelings, that is. So I want to take some time to find out what’s going on inside my head when I’m around you, okay? I, I hope it doesn’t put our friendship—”</p><p>“<em>Nothing </em> can ruin our friendship,” Amity assures Luz with a smile because, honestly, Amity has been through this whole ‘what if she stops being my friend’ phase. Until Amity realised that the best romantic partners <em> have </em>to be good friends as well — otherwise it’s not gonna work in the long run.</p><p>“Also,” Amity adds with a tiny smile, “I don’t wanna rush you or push you or anything, but could you start figuring it out a bit faster?”</p><p>Luz chuckles and places her lips against Amity’s temple. “I’ll try.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter is over 12 thousand words — and the next 4 chapters will be extremely tiny, almost miniscule. And then the following chapters will get bigger again! But it’s all intentional, so I hope you bear with my antics like Amity is bearing with Edric and Emira’s antics. :D</p><p>Thank you so much for reading this story of mine and leaving your kudos and comments. I really appreciate it, thank you!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz &amp; Amity, Part I</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s surprising just how well they work together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz showers early in the morning so that she can go back to sleep ‘cool and refreshed’. Amity showers in the evening before bed so that she can get eight hours of sleep in a row without the heat and sweat interrupting her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz likes to have three breakfasts. Amity likes to eat a full lunch and a small dinner. Luz sings Conan Gray’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heather </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the shower (no, Amity is not a creep who was listening in from behind the door), while Amity does her best scream metal imitations, confident that the running water will conceal her pathetic vocal exercises. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz comes to Amity’s bedroom every evening, and the two girls laugh, and share, and maybe even overshare — and sometimes Luz gets into one of her quiet moods and does something fascinating, like kissing Amity’s forearm or suddenly taking Amity by the waist and holding her hands there. Amity always encourages Luz, but doesn’t push further.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, Luz is way more touchy than usual — and yet these touches lead to moments of quiet contemplation, which Amity finds troubling. One second Luz is grabbing her elbow to drag her outside, and then the next moment the Latina freezes, as if realising what she’s doing — and the rest of the day Luz is calm and soft and mostly silent.</span>
  <span>These mixed signals are only playing into Amity’s anxiety, because what if Luz figures out that she doesn’t want to date Amity? This lack of communication, this uncertainty, is feeding Amity's fear — and, if Edric is to be believed, the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Apart from the existential fear of dying alone, having lived your life for nothing, and realising that everything you have achieved will be buried underneath the merciless weight of impartial Time — but, according to Edric, Amity is too young to think about that kind of fear.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One day, the two girls are laughing at King’s antics (the cat is trying to open the drawer where his treats are), and Amity grabs Luz’s hand and kisses her palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luz freezes and stops laughing, and Amity wants to die (but, like, in a bad way) because Amity is a horrible pervert because when Luz does something like that it’s natural and good and beautiful, and when Amity does something like that it is horrible, abusive, and perverted. Because Amity knows what Luz doesn’t: that Amity is deeply, irrevocably, in love with Luz.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Amity whispers, trying to let go of the tan hand, which is glistening with sweat and, for some reason, is still clinging to her own pale, trembling hand. “I… I didn’t mean—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you do it again?” Luz whispers back, her fingers interlacing with Amity’s. “Please? I liked it so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amity doesn’t answer. Instead, she kisses Luz’s palm again, and again, and keeps kissing her hand over and over, because it’s all Amity has ever wanted, and Luz starts stroking Amity’s hair, and all is good with the world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz &amp; Amity, Part II</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Amity and Luz grow even more intimate.</p><p>It’s a bizarre dance, with Amity keeping silent, lest she spook the object of her desire; and Luz alternating between her usual confidence and quiet calmness, and it’s the quiet Luz that Amity has grown to appreciate just as much as the loud Luz.</p><p>Amity does not dare utter a word of romance, because it’s clear as day that Luz is trying, really <em> trying </em> to figure it out. And, since Amity cannot help her, Amity is sure as heck not going to make it worse. There is too much at stake, and Amity is too much of a screw-up as it is.</p><p>One day, Luz and Amity are reading a book on Amity’s tablet — one of those <em> The Good Witch Azura </em> comic books, the licensed ones — and they reach a page where Azura takes Hecate’s hands in hers and confesses her love for the witch.</p><p>Amity skips the page as soon as possible, because Luz is staring at the screen, and it’s clearly making her uncomfortable. And Amity has not seen Luz <em> truly </em> uncomfortable yet — at least not to this extent, with all the shifting and the sniffing and the quiet grunting.</p><p>“Can we role-play this scene?” Luz whispers, her eyes meeting Amity’s. “Like, um… Do you want to…”</p><p>They have role-played before. Luz, of course, is always Azura because Luz is adventurous, Luz is fantastic, Luz is brash and brave and determined. Luz has all the traits of a protagonist, and Amity is perfectly content with being Hecate because Amity likes to be the kind of seemingly evil person who is secretly good. But not too good, of course.</p><p>So it’s perfectly common and normal for Luz to suggest something like that. And there is nothing to worry about. <em> Especially </em> in the part where the scene they’re about to role-play is about love and hand-holding and love and did Amity mention <em> love</em>? Pure, romantic love? The kind of love that Amity feels in her heart every time she looks at Luz? Perfectly common. Perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about. </p><p>“Y-yes, sure!” Amity’s voice is trembling, but it really shouldn’t, because this is just a game. “Oh, Luz, thank you for saving me from the Slitherbeast!” she says immediately before Luz can reconsider. Before <em> Amity </em>can reconsider.</p><p>
  <em> Wait, we’re not supposed to use our real names, f— </em>
</p><p>“Of course, Amity!” Luz actually changes her voice, playing into the witch persona, her flustered face changing into one of strength and determination. “You were the only thing on my mind when we were fighting.”</p><p>Luz takes Amity’s hands in hers. Like in the comic. <em> Just a game. This is just a game. </em></p><p>“L-Luz?” Amity responds, and her inner thoughts perfectly mirror the comic page. <em> Just a gay— a game! Just a game. </em></p><p>“Amity.” Luz smiles with Azura’s smile. “I’m in love with you.”</p><p>Technically, Hecate isn’t supposed to die on the page. But Amity is not a very good actor because Amity dies inside at those words, even if they are just Azura’s words, just a game, and Luz doesn’t really <em> mean </em> them, but maybe if Amity can respond — of course the comic ends there, but if Amity could maybe just gather enough courage to <em> respond </em>— </p><p>“I like touching you,” Luz whispers suddenly, off-script, her face turning a dark shade of pink as she drops the role, the scene having played out fully. “I, I don’t know why. I just do.”</p><p>Amity does not dare move. Because Amity knows why. Amity has known for a while. If only Amity had enough courage to say it.</p><p>Luz gulps and her thumb finds Amity’s lips, while the fingers of her right hand grab Amity’s fingers even tighter, interlacing them with hers. “I feel… content when I’m touching you. When you touch me back, I feel happy. Happy but calm. Grounded. I want to keep touching you forever and never let go. I don’t understand... Amity, I, I think I—”</p><p>“Hey, kids, is pizza for dinner okay?”</p><p>Even though Amity feels nothing but respect and reverie for Eda, right now Amity can swear she would murder the great Russian Rapier in a heartbeat.</p><p>Luz lets go of Amity’s hand (<em>and lips!!!</em>) and puts on a pretend-smile. “Sure thing, Eda!” The girl gets up, giving Amity a soft look. “Let’s go?”</p><p>Amity gets up with a smile, but on the inside she is screaming. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So am I, Amity... So am I...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz &amp; Amity, Part III</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Luz plays her guitalele, every day, exclusively for Amity.  </p><p>These tiny concerts bring out a change in the Dominican girl. Luz becomes more adventurous. Apparently, she is starting to finally understand something, and hopefully this ‘something’ means that Luz and Amity should start dating <em> immediately</em>, and Amity is scared to even <em> think </em>about it because Amity does not want to jinx it. </p><p>Luz evolves from mere touching to… something else.</p><p>One evening, she plays <em> Would You Be So Kind </em>by Dodie, and at the end of the song kisses Amity’s earlobe, then nibbles on it slightly. And waits. Amity is too shocked to reciprocate — and flinches like the stupid flincher that she is.</p><p>The next evening, Luz plays <em> Passing Papers </em>by Egg, and at the end of the song presses her lips against Amity’s bare shin (it’s hot so Amity is wearing shorts), which is oh so conveniently nested next to Luz on the bed. And waits. Amity almost dies — and flinches again because Amity is a worthless turd who always makes everything worse.</p><p>Then, it’s <em> Despair</em>, and then it’s <em> Sorry</em> <em>Haha</em><em> I Fell Asleep</em>, and kisses on the elbow, and kisses on the forehead, and, while Amity doesn’t return Luz’s advances, lest she impede on the whole figuring-it-out thing, Amity thinks that maybe this development, if unusual, is perfect. Because their dynamic is evolving, and Luz seems to be feeling good about it. (Amity is <em> obviously </em> feeling good about it, except if Amity could maybe <em> speak </em>to Luz like a normal person it would be even better.) </p><p>Then, one evening, Luz plays <em> She</em>. It’s Dodie again, but the mood is so different, and Amity is kind of worried. Because Amity can hear the lyrics, and Luz seems sad, and surely Luz cannot think that Amity does not reciprocate her feelings?! Because Amity isn’t sure if Luz <em> has </em> any feelings — okay, Luz <em> does </em> have feelings for Amity, it’s clear, but Amity can’t understand if those are romantic feelings or best-friend-feelings — because they don’t freaking <em> talk </em> about it. Amity wants to scream but instead she smiles and gives Luz an applause. Luz looks at her long, very long, as if waiting for something, and Amity the Useless Flinching Idiot doesn’t move.</p><p>That night, Luz doesn’t kiss her anywhere.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It’s not angst, I swear~<br/>It might be closer to despair~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Luz &amp; Amity, Part IV</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz becomes even more quiet. Her eyes fall on Amity with adoration. Her fingers still touch Amity, but it’s less heated. The touches are longer. Kinder. More thoughtful. But way less electrifying. Amity is not sure how to feel about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One day, Luz walks into Amity’s bedroom and sees the European with King in her lap, petting the black cat, who is vibrating with low-pitched purrs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amity lifts her eyes and looks at Luz, who seems frozen in place, contemplative. Amity gives her an encouraging smile and nods slowly, trying to show the Latina that anything she does or says is okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luz takes several hesitant, cautious steps towards Amity. At first Amity thinks it’s so as not to wake the cat, but Luz’s expression is filled with strange, unusual determination, and Amity actually feels pretty worried. Scared, even. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amity has been waiting for this, but seeing Luz </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>serious… Amity can only imagine what is going on in Luz Noceda’s mind, and Amity is afraid that she is the one causing Luz all this pressure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if Luz is not ready? What if Luz feels obliged to start dating Amity because Luz has figured out Amity is in love with her? What if Luz does </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to date Amity but is playing along not to break Amity’s heart because the fantastic fencer is just so kind like that? Perhaps this is the reason behind Luz Noceda’s newfound hesitation?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or, perhaps, Luz </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>like Amity the way Amity likes Luz. But would it even work? With Amity desiring conversation, and Luz implying more than she ever says, how would the two of them work? Amity needs to hear those words. Amity needs Luz to say ‘I love you’ eventually. Because if Luz never says it, then… Then their potential relationship will crumble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if Luz likes Amity but thinks that Amity doesn’t like her back?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So yes, Amity is anxious beyond belief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, apparently, Luz can see it because she stops and just stands there, staring at Amity, and there is so much pain in those beautiful brown eyes that Amity wants to cry. “You are so perfect,” Luz finally whispers, and leaves the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since that day, Luz no longer comes to Amity’s bedroom in the evenings.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Every summer must come to an end.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Amity loves summer. </p><p>Born and raised in a land of eternal winter, Amity cannot help but always marvel at how warm it is here, how pleasant the sun on her skin feels, how the air feels warm and tasty and slightly humid.</p><p>Back in Amity’s snowy homeland, summer usually fights to set winter back, spring is minute, unnoticeable, just a few weeks of blooming that’s a prologue to a summer that takes its reign for a little, too little, way too little. As a child, Amity would wait for the first rays of sun in late March which would whisper to the little girl: <em> Hey, a few more weeks and the snow will melt, and the trees will bloom, and summer will come again. </em></p><p>Here, it’s always sunny, even the winters are sunny, spring lasts three full months, so summer sets in diligently, slowly, meticulously, not as a fighter, not as a victor, but as an old friend who comes by every year like clockwork.</p><p>Amity loves the middle of the day, raising her face towards the sun, her eyes closed, eyelids burning with the pleasant tingle of late July, when the sun is the kindest. Amity loves soft summer nights when the air is fresh but not crispy, and the green-haired girl can crawl onto the rooftop and just enjoy breathing, her chest taking in all the air it can. The fencer is truly thankful for all the stretching: for the first time this year her body doesn’t feel constrained, her chest rises and falls as intended, her legs are soft and don’t continuously hum with fatigue.</p><p>Amity takes on all the outdoor chores and walks to the little store in the nearby town — a village really — to watch all the happy people there. Their faces radiate the same warmth as the sunny sky, much unlike the grim exterior of Amity’s compatriots.</p><p>The leaves on the trees are green and watery. The asphalt under her feet is soft and black, a contrast to the winter grey. The houses stand illuminated, and even dull concrete boxes shine with a pretense of a fairy tale hut.</p><p>The water in the nearby river is clean, and the sun reflects off it, sending tiny specks of eternal light to dance on the surface — and Amity dances with them, on the shore, on the bank of the river, nearby.</p><p>Without Luz. Alone.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Okay, so Amity screwed up.</p><p>That’s no big deal. Amity screws up all the time. Amity is the self-proclaimed queen of screwing up, second only to Edric and maybe Emira. </p><p>But at least Amity knows where and when she screwed up.</p><p>It’s been a week since Luz called Amity perfect and walked away. And Amity didn’t follow her. Since then, Luz has not touched Amity, has not kissed Amity, has not hugged Amity.</p><p>And it hurts, it hurts so much — but it’s all Amity’s fault. At first Amity was bitter, Amity was sad, Amity wanted to confront Luz, to call her out, to… to…</p><p>Amity was too flustered, too confused, too short-sighted. She didn’t return the romantic gestures that Luz lavished her with, and that is the only reason why Luz has been so quiet, so distant, so touchless.</p><p>Amity would say hello, and Luz would reply. Amity would wave her hand, and Luz would wave back. Amity would tell a stupid joke, and Luz would chuckle politely. And that was it, all the time there was this wall of ice between them, a glacier that was making Luz so cautious, so wary, so intent on keeping her distance.</p><p>And then Amity figured it out. It was because of her, Amity, because of her ridiculous behaviour. Not returning Luz Noceda’s advances made Luz certain that Amity did not like those advances; or, perhaps, did not like Luz. And that is the farthest thing from the truth. </p><p>So the past few days Amity has been dancing on pins and needles, her gut twisting at the idea of alienating her crush like that.</p><p>But now Amity is serene, because Amity has made a decision. She is going to talk to Luz, and, whatever the outcome, Amity will be ready. But they <em> have to </em>talk. </p><p>So, shifting from foot to foot in front of the familiar bedroom door, Amity plays out the options, from worst to best:</p><p>1) Luz will shut her off and stop being friends with her and kick her out. (Very implausible, but still possible.)</p><p>2) Luz will pretend nothing has been going on and just keep on with their friendly dynamic. (Uncomfortable, potentially leading to much hypocrisy on Amity’s part.)</p><p>3) Amity will confess to Luz and Luz will tell Amity she doesn’t like her that way. (The most plausible outcome, very good because Amity won’t keep lying and will instead try to keep building a friendly relationship with Luz without lying to her and to herself.)</p><p>4) Amity will confess to Luz, and Luz will tell Amity that she’s in love with her too and they will talk and laugh and make out. (The most impossible, the most implausible, the most desirable option.)</p><p>Amity takes a breath and knocks on the wooden door with an attached carton board that says ‘Knock twice for Luz, scratch once for King’. Amity would chuckle, but she doesn’t.</p><p>“Come on in!” comes Luz Noceda’s voice, and Amity opens the door.</p><p>Luz is nestled in her bed (which, in reality, is more of a nest of blankets sprawled on the floor), while King is nowhere to be seen. Luz looks at Amity and immediately averts her gaze, her eyes instead focusing on the electric socket in the corner. </p><p>Amity has lived in this country for years, and she still hasn’t gotten used to those sockets. Just like Amity cannot get used to Luz being quiet and sad. And Amity will <em> not </em>get used to it because Amity is pumping herself up for the talk. </p><p>There are so many things Amity has been wanting to tell Luz over the week.</p><p>Please stay with me, she wants to say. Please be mine. I love you more than I love breathing, she wants to say. I am sorry I’m so pathetic. I didn’t understand anything, and I’m a moron. You were so into me, you seemed to like me so much, and I screwed up so badly because you stopped. You stopped touching me, you stopped kissing me, and my life lost its purpose. You became distant and now I’m not sure what to do because I will do anything to win you back — and yet I’m not even sure if you like me back anymore.</p><p>Instead, Amity says, “Do you have a minute?” <em> A good start. </em></p><p>“For you,” Luz gulps, still not meeting Amity’s eyes, “I have all the time in the world.”</p><p>Amity proceeds inside and sits down, on the other edge of the… nest, to give Luz her space and still be on the same level. “Luz, I… I want to talk about last week. When you told me I was perfect,” Amity clarifies before she can lose courage. </p><p>“B-because you are,” Luz whispers, blushing and still eyeing the socket in the corner.</p><p>“T-then why did you stop touching me?” Amity gulps and now, it seems, the socket has also drawn her attention, because she can’t look at Luz directly.</p><p>“You… You didn’t seem to like it.” Luz’s voice is trembling, and Amity still can’t look at her friend. <em> Well, as expected, all of this is because I’m a screw-up. </em>“So I, uh, I stopped.”</p><p>“I…” What a wonderful, interesting socket. “I did like it. I do like it. I love your touching, and t-the, uh, the kisses. I just… Okay.”</p><p>Amity gulps. She is <em> not </em>ready. Amity is a coward, an effing coward. Amity has played the conversation in her head, but her heart is racing, and words don’t come out of her throat. Amity is basically in that pre-fainting state when she can go on and have a leap of faith and tell Luz everything and faint — or Amity can remain a stupid coward and calm down.</p><p>Amity calms down. “Would… Would you like me to touch you, Luz?” </p><p>Luz responds to physical signs better than words, Amity tells herself. So it’s really a step forward that Amity has shifted the conversation like that. Yep, Amity could lay it all on Luz (oh God the phrasing) right now, but no, Amity is smart so she’s gonna start slow. Amity is going to earn her forgiveness by giving Luz what she made Luz devoid of — physicality. </p><p>First Luz needs to <em> feel </em> Amity, and only then Luz can believe Amity’s words. Damn, Amity is smart. (No, she’s not. She’s just an effing coward.) </p><p>“Yes…” Luz whispers, looking at Amity with tears in her eyes. “But you don’t have to do it for my sake, Amity, I—”</p><p>Amity presses her finger against Luz’s lips, and Luz shuts up. Then, Amity shifts to Luz’s cheek, cupping it in her palm, and Luz gasps. Then, Amity runs her fingers through the beautiful brown hair and leans in. <em> Just one kiss.  </em></p><p>Amity presses her lips against Luz’s cheek. <em> Almost a kiss.  </em></p><p>“Do you want me to come by again tonight?” Amity asks after a few more minutes of petting and touching and stroking and rubbing Luz’s head.</p><p>“Yes,” Luz replies but still doesn’t touch Amity back. “Please.”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Amity keeps giving Luz affection, and Luz becomes more cheerful by the day. Amity kisses Luz on both cheeks, Amity runs her fingers through Luz’s hair, Amity massages Luz’s shoulders.</p><p>One day, Luz finally responds. Amity draws her in by the waist and Luz buries her face in Amity’s neck, kissing her, kissing her like she used to, and Amity almost cries.</p><p><em> Tomorrow, </em> Amity thinks, cradling Luz in her embrace. <em> Tomorrow I’ll tell her everything. </em></p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Why is the darn socket so mesmerising?</p><p>Once again, the two girls are cradled in the bed-nest in Luz’s bedroom. Luz is already touchy-feely, and Amity is brave, and Amity needs to tell her. This is the perfect time. This is literally the perfect time. If Amity doesn’t do it now, she never will.</p><p>Amity takes a breath and shifts her gaze towards Luz who has been staring at Amity’s lips for a while. <em> Now or never.  </em></p><p>“I like you, Luz. I like you romantically. I’ve liked you for months, and when you started kissing me and touching me a month ago, I thought maybe that meant we could start dating. I was sure we would start dating. But I got scared that you might not like me that way, because you never told me, and I was worried you were touching and kissing me just for my sake without really wanting it. So I didn’t return your advances. And that’s my mistake, Luz, because I’m so, <em> so </em>attracted to you that you can’t imagine. So this week, I wanted to show you with all this touching just how much I like you.”</p><p>
  <em> Wow, when did I stop being a flustered mess and became a rational mature person? Em and Ed are -not- gonna believe me. I’m such a wordsmith, I can’t believe I didn’t get a 100 in Literature. Okay, maybe a 95, I didn’t start with a fitting introduction, jumping straight to the confession. Haha, ‘straight’. </em>
</p><p>“I think I <em> can </em>imagine.” There is a smile on the girl’s face, but it’s tiny and shy and not the usual Noceda grin. “It’s so stupid, really. I was afraid you weren’t attracted to me. You were afraid I wasn’t attracted to you. And all we had to do was talk.”</p><p>“M-meaning?” Amity’s breath has decided to take a vacation, but it’s fine. Everything’s fine. Amity doesn’t need breathing anyway, why breathe when she can just stare breathlessly at Luz, who is now looking more energetic.</p><p>“Meaning I figured it out.” Luz shifts even closer to Amity, and Amity gasps. “I <em> am </em>attracted to you, Amity. It’s a new thing, this ‘attraction’, and I’m not sure how it works, but I wanna find out with you. Together.”</p><p>“W-wow. Wow. So, uh, you are romantically attracted to me?” Amity asks, the socket all but forgotten.</p><p>“Yes.” Luz does not break eye contact, and it’s <em> soooo </em>hot. “And you are romantically attracted to me?” </p><p>“Yes!” Amity starts nodding. “Oh God yes. It’s so good to finally talk about it, right?”</p><p>“Of course.” Luz nods shyly. “I’ve also figured out talking is an important thing or something, and I can’t always rely on gestures. Even though finally getting back to all the gestures is so fun.”</p><p>“It’s great, you’re great,” Amity says, extremely proud of her… girlfriend? Best friend? <em> Gah! One more thing to talk about… </em>“So… do you wanna come by my bedroom tonight to talk?”</p><p>Luz has a different idea. “How about we talk now? I really don’t want Eda to barge in and mess this up.”</p><p>“Yes, she’s the worst,” Amity laughs, the weight dropping off her shoulders, her chest once again able to breathe fully, her neck no longer tense. <em> It’s so weird. I expected a wagon of drama, and it turned out to be so simple. Step by step. </em></p><p>“Heh, you changed your opinion of her quickly.” Luz giggles, and her chuckles are warm and fuzzy and genuine, and Amity wants to kiss the laughter off her lips to charge herself with its power.</p><p>Perhaps Amity should do that. Perhaps Amity needs to be bolder, now that she knows that Luz still likes touching and kissing her. Now that she knows Luz is attracted to her as well.</p><p>“Well, Eda is a hero, but you are more important.” Amity flutters her eyelashes and puts the tip of her finger between her lips, and is Luz blushing? Because it definitely seems like Luz is blushing. Amity <em> loves </em>having this power.</p><p>“Is this the part where we kiss?” Luz asks, and Amity remembers that Luz is the one with all the power in this relationship.</p><p>“Y-you mean after the talk?” Amity confirms, a myriad of tiny Amities running in circles inside her head, panicking.</p><p>“Right now.” Luz licks her lips and shifts even closer. “If you want to.”</p><p>“I want to,” Amity whispers. <em> Yes yes yes yes yes finally! Oh no wait do I open my mouth is it weird if I open my mouth and she doesn't I should have brushed my teeth why did I eat that garlic bread after brushing my teeth oh no I should— </em></p><p>“Kid, it’s time for your training session!”</p><p>“Eda, NOT NOW!” Luz shouts, still leaning into Amity — but, naturally, the moment is ruined.</p><p>“Not you, the other kid,” Eda persists, now appearing in the doorway, seemingly unperturbed by the proximity of the two girls on the bed-nest. “The American.”</p><p>“I’m not American,” Amity replies and glances at Luz with longing. “Okay, I guess we’ll have to postpone the talk till, uh, the evening.”</p><p>“What talk?” Eda questions, while Luz chuckles, dismay washed off as the girl scoots back a little. “Oh, if it’s about the birds and the bees, just stick your fingers—”</p><p>“We’re <em> good</em>, Eda!” Amity shrieks, remembering that, no matter how much she tries to pretend to be a coherent high-functioning organism, in reality she’s still a flustered beetroot. “Let’s go train!”</p><p>“We’ll talk in the evening,” Luz winks, obviously pleased with the outcome. “I promise.”</p><p>Then Luz licks her lips again, and Amity runs downstairs because seriously, when Amity came into Luz’s room half an hour ago, she was hoping they would either remain friends (a.k.a. Luz telling Amity she isn’t really interested) or, hopefully, mutually confess and start dating (a.k.a. Luz lifting Amity and carrying her to church) — but, as always, reality has turned out to be more complicated.</p><p>So, Luz <em> is </em> interested in Amity, romantically interested, and now Luz also knows how Amity feels. It’s a start, and it’s a good start, and they almost kissed for real, and in the evening they’ll talk it out, and they almost <em> kissed </em> for real, and maybe they will start dating, and they almost <em> kissed </em> for <em> real</em>, and Amity is changing into her training gear and she’ll think of Luz later, and they almost <em> kissed </em>FOR REAL, can’t the effing universe just cut Amity some slack? Flustered Beetroots are supposed to be a protected species!</p><p><em> Step by step, </em> Amity thinks as she exits the Owl House to meet Eda in the backyard. Everything happens step by step. It’s not like in her favourite books or movies. If anything, life is like a series. The pacing sucks, the director doesn’t know the script, and yet everything still happens — step by step.</p><p><em> Like fencing, </em> Amity thinks, smiling at Eda who is waiting in the backyard, owls asleep in their shed, the wooden poles vacant until the night. (The hooting never stops. Amity’s nights are filled with hooting.) Romance is just like fencing. Amity was not born with an épée in her hand, just like Amity cannot magically become Luz’s girlfriend. It’s a build-up, and Amity has just scored a huge win, and she can win this championship tonight. And the national fencing championship too, of course.</p><p>In fact, Amity is in perfect shape. Deloading has done wonders for her. Amity was worried it would make her weak, fat, and fragile. Instead, Amity has barely gained any weight, her limbs don’t even require as much stretching, and she has so much energy that it fills her up entirely. Or it might be just the excitement from anticipating a girlfriend-talk (name pending) with Luz tonight.</p><p>One way or another, Amity flicks her épée and grins at Eda. “I’m ready.”</p><p>“Ready to make out with Luz?” Eda calls out, and Amity is suddenly <em> not </em>ready.</p><p>“W-we! We haven’t—” </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay.” Seriously, Eda’s grin should be trademarked or something. <em> I have to talk to Edric about that. </em>“Just don’t let it get to your head on the piste. You lose concentration when you think of that kid.”</p><p><em> Of course I do, I’m in love with her! </em>“You lose concentration when you forget you have an épée in your hand, and not a foil!” Amity retorts, pleased with herself. </p><p>Just a month ago Amity would have died at the idea of talking back to the great Russian Rapier, and now she’s swinging jokes with the same precise ease that she has while swinging the épée. Then again, today it might have something to do with Luz liking her, and Luz learning that Amity likes her too, and it’s literally the best thing ever — until the evening, when Luz will probably kiss Amity on the lips and then Amity will ask Luz to become her girlfriend and— </p><p>“Well, I still kick your ass every time on the piste!” Eda’s voice reaches Amity’s ears and Amity realises she’s been zoning out. “Or should I say ‘arse’?”</p><p>“I’m not British either,” Amity mumbles, tapping her épée against the soft soil. “Fencing isn’t about winning!” she raises her voice so that Eda can hear her.</p><p>“Oh, but it <em> is</em>!” Eda retorts, tapping against her mask. “Forget whatever Lily has taught you about fair play and sportsmanship and other nonsense. Fencing is about <em> winning</em>.”</p><p>“Lilith says if you don’t play fair, don’t play at all.” Amity still believes that, no matter what Eda says. Because, while Eda is fun and great and amazing, it is Lilith who is Amity’s real mo— coach. </p><p>“Yeah, and Lilith also says that pickles and milk don’t go well together.” Eda snorts. “What does she know.”</p><p>“Well, they, uh, don’t.” Amity blinks in confusion. “It’s common knowledge.” <em> So that’s why Eda has her own bathroom. </em></p><p>“Come on, get on the piste!” The grey-haired lady slaps the épée against her leg. Luz’s épée. </p><p>“This is literally an open backyard,” Amity mutters, the very idea of anything Luz-related making her feel more heat than ever. <em> Just the weather. </em></p><p>“Come on, <em> en garde </em> or I’ll disown you.” Eda puts on her mask.</p><p><em> I seriously need to stop searching for a mother figure, </em>Amity thinks, but gets into position, putting on her mask — which just so conveniently hides her signature Beetroot face.</p><p>Eda advances without warning. There is no ‘allez’, no indication of attack. Amity reacts on instinct, parrying the thrust and almost backing into the wooden pole.</p><p>Fights are supposed to be two-dimensional, not open-field. And yet Eda keeps her barrage, pummeling Amity with well-thought attacks, none of which are even lunges. Which is interesting, because the Russian Rapier just keeps fighting without stepping back after each point that she scores.</p><p>Amity is not sure what she’s supposed to be training. It’s definitely not the skill, because this fight has nothing to do with actual footwork, actual fencing techniques. Something like that would never happen on the piste — in an actual tournament.</p><p>Thankfully, Lilith has already prepared Amity for the tournament so the dedicated European can take a breath and enjoy herself, parrying Eda’s attacks like they’re filming a fight scene in an action movie.</p><p>However, it’s obvious that Eda’s endurance way surpasses Amity’s. The teenager is only parrying, and yet she is running out of breath already, her chest moving rapidly as her lungs burn, trying to get more oxygen. The post-rain humidity does not help, the air is thick and damp and heavy.</p><p>Amity tries to resort to a pirouette, and kicks the wooden pole with her sneaker-clad foot, but, instead of pushing the pole onto Eda, the teenage fencer almost trips, staggering back a few steps. <em> Fudge. </em></p><p>However, that’s all the momentum she needs, so Amity does something no fencer is supposed to ever do: she turns her back on Eda and runs. This gesture alone is enough to stupefy the Russian Rapier, so, once Eda starts running after her, Amity already has enough speed to jump.</p><p>And so she jumps onto one of the wooden poles. “I… I have the higher ground!” she announces, hoping that the dizziness will not make her fall. The poles aren’t that high, but it would still be humiliating to collapse mid-battle.</p><p>Eda does not pay heed, trying to flick the épée at Amity’s legs. So Amity jumps and lands directly on top of the older woman, knocking her over and letting the tip of her épée press into Eda’s knee. </p><p>With a victorious squeal, Amity rolls over, and the two fencers just lie on the ground, panting. Okay, Amity is panting, Eda is already up (seriously, at her age?!) and offering the girl a helping hand.</p><p>“I’m impressed, kid.” Eda takes off her mask. And, as if on cue, her wonderful flowy silver mane of a haircut just puffs out gloriously, unlike Amity’s messy green hair when she takes off her mask in turn.</p><p>“Thanks.” Amity tries to fake nonchalance without much success. <em> Squee the Russian Rapier has praised me eeeeeeeeeeee— </em>“It was fun.”</p><p>While on the outside Amity is walking alongside Eda with deliberate victorious slowness, on the inside she keeps squealing all the way into the living room where the two take off the gear. </p><p>
  <em> Wow, I nailed it! I totally nailed it! I’m amazing, with this strength and agility, I’m, like, a Witcher! Or, since I’m female, does this make me a Witch? I’m the best Witch ever! Amity the Best Witch! </em>
</p><p>“You’re not too bad yourself,” Amity remarks, folding her jacket, glove, and plastron neatly onto the sofa. “For someone who is a foil fencer, of course.” <em> Wow I’m sassy. Amity the Sassy Witch! </em></p><p>“Well, as I have proved time and again, I do dabble a little in épée,” Eda smirks, while Amity is having too much fun with her new Witch identity.</p><p>“When you say ‘dabble’, do you mean like those guitar players that say ‘I dabble a little’ and then play <em> Through the Fire and Flames </em>with their eyes closed?” Amity laughs, passing the tiny cupboard, which is oh-so-often a toe-grabber and a toe-hurter and a fudge-you-cupboard-receiver. Especially at night when Amity needs a midnight snack. Which she is not supposed to have, but, hey, deloading, right?</p><p>“Kid, you do know I play electric guitar, right? I was in a band called <em> Razor Blades And Shaving Cream. </em> Look them up.” Eda’s smirks are truly the most beautiful. Except the ones Luz has — but those are just divine and otherworldly. “As an experienced shredder, I assure you that’s <em> not </em>the hardest song in the world. Try Polyphia, but not, like, G.O.A.T., try some real stuff, like O.D.”</p><p>“Well, your guitar doesn’t djent,” Amity mumbles, disregarding the very stupid (and indie! which is worse) band name. </p><p>Amity doesn’t actually play guitar, but she likes to pretend. Just like she likes to pretend she is <em> not </em>frozen in place and melting like a puddle of jelly at the sight of Luz in her otter pyjamas descending the stairs. </p><p>Luz is too cute, too close, too impossible. Amity cannot believe she is blessed with talking to Luz again, touching her again, being there with her crush, just being close, being together… There are no words to describe Amity’s glee, just raw, unyielding emotion above her abdomen, in the centre of her body, right there in the middle, the warmth that somehow cools her down in this heat, grounds her, heals her. </p><p>It’s strange, so strange to think that it was so simple — just talking to Luz. It’s still impossible to believe and it goes against every trope that Amity the avid reader has believed in so far. Amity the binge-watcher can only concede — and yet just talking to Luz was so simple, and brought such fascinating results.</p><p>Like Luz kissing Amity on the neck, which seems to be the new greeting they have. Amity certainly doesn’t mind. <em> Kisses on the neck it is! Kisses on the cheek are sooooo last year. </em></p><p>“How was it?” Luz asks enthusiastically, and just hearing her voice is so amazing. This week of renewed passion has been so amazing, almost fantastic. Unbelievable.</p><p>What is very believable is Luz wrapping her arms around Amity. “Did you win?”</p><p>“It’s not about winning,” Amity mutters and kisses Luz’s cheek. “But I did score a point.”</p><p>“Aww, that’s my Amity!” Luz exclaims, and it almost sounds as nice as ‘my girlfriend’. Almost. “So, I was actually listening to Disturbed, and you know what I found?” </p><p>Luz’s voice is not only the most beautiful timbre in the universe, but also the most desirable sound ever. Except the sound of a new show arriving on Netflix, or the sound of the intro for <em> Falling Inside the Black</em>, but Amity is biased.</p><p>And the best thing?</p><p>Luz is enthusiastic, Luz is cheerful, and Luz is happy. The week of confusion is over, the week of exploration is coming to an end, and now it’s time for the great eternity of romance. And nothing can stop it. Unless Amity royally screws up again. That is certainly a possibility, giving Amity’s medical history with screw-ups and her poor screw-up genetics. It’s Ed and Em’s fault for Amity’s predisposition to screwing up, and no one can tell Amity otherwise.</p><p>In addition to being chipper and talkative, Luz is listening to metal now which is also the sexiest thing ever. Then again, everything about Luz is the sexiest thing ever. No, Amity is not a horny teenager. Just… slightly hormonal.</p><p>“So… you’re listening to metal now, huh?” Amity decides to do the non-horny thing and scratches Luz’s chin with her index finger. <em> Amity the Horny Witch. </em></p><p>“Of course!” Luz takes the finger and puts it in her mouth, biting it slightly. <em> Okay, abort mission ‘be sexy’! Go back go back go back!! </em>“I want to know the music that my future wife is into~”</p><p>“W-what did you find?” Amity gets back to the beginning of the conversation because otherwise Amity would have to think about marrying Luz and having her finger in Luz’s mouth for a second and Amity does not want to die in the middle of this corridor. At least let her get to the bedroom.</p><p>“Remember that line in <em> Ten Thousand Fists </em> that goes ‘leave the weak and the haunted behind’?” Luz does not seem perturbed by the whole finger-biting thing. Then again, aren’t otters supposed to bite? <em> I am hitting levels of idiocy that should not even be possible. </em></p><p>“Yeah, I think so.” Amity does not want to give away her nerdiness even though Amity literally knows <em> every </em>metal song by heart. “What about it?”</p><p>“Well…” Luz tugs at her pyjama sleeves (<em>my adorable little otter~</em>) and grins. “I first heard it as ‘leave the weak and the <em> otter </em>behind’. Soooo I guess I’m a metal otter now.”</p><p>“Oh really?” Amity can also be sultry. The European leans in and pecks Luz on the eyebrow clumsily. “Mmm, so you hail the Otter Satan now?”</p><p>Even though Luz chuckles, she still crosses her chest without thinking. “No, I guess I’m a Christian metal otter.”</p><p>“Aww, Christian metal is the worst!” Amity laughs back, and Luz draws her in by the waist.</p><p>“Says the one listening to Skillet!”</p><p>The girls bicker a little, and Eda is nowhere to be seen, and then Luz kisses Amity’s neck, and nuzzles into it lovingly, and Amity thinks that, from now on, everything will be all right.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“Edric, don’t you dare!”</p><p>Amity chuckles, because it’s always fun seeing her siblings argue with each other, but it’s especially fun now because Amity actually has popcorn, videochatting with Emira and enjoying the show.</p><p>In the background (Amity is clever so she is using her tablet to get the Full HD picture), Edric is getting ready for his date with Jerbo, looking at himself in the mirror.</p><p>“Don’t you <em> dare</em>,” Emira repeats. “Don’t you dare put on your shirt that says ‘Will Fuck For Food’!”</p><p>Edric turns around and winks at Amity. His shirt, indeed, says ‘Will Fuck For Food’. “But I love that shirt! And it’s such a fitting occasion, since he’s taking me out to dinner and all!”</p><p>Emira groans. “Edric, NO.”</p><p>“Aww, come on!” Edric ruffles Emira’s hair and immediately gets a kick in the shin. “Hey, be nice, I even got you some gifts!” </p><p>“Gifts?” Amity perks up and puts down her popcorn, upset that she isn’t there to receive the gifts. Amity likes gifts. </p><p>“Here!” Edric hands a tiny box to his sister. “You’ll need these tonight.”</p><p>Emira groans and mumbles something that resembles, <em> For fuck’s sake, Ed… </em> Knowing Emira <em> and </em>Edric, it’s probably those exact words.</p><p>“These are just earplugs.” Amity observes the little box on the screen before Emira hides it, hoping that, perhaps, Edric has hidden the real gift inside. “Why would you need—”</p><p>“I’m gonna bring Jerbo home tonight~” Edric sings, tying his purple tie. On top of a T-shirt. In the middle of summer.</p><p>For a moment, Amity just stares blankly at her brother’s image on the screen. Then she laughs as Emira throws the earplugs away. “I’m so glad I’m staying over with Luz.”</p><p>“Take me with you!” Emira calls out.</p><p>“Get your own girlfriend!” Amity teases, and, in a moment, her face goes numb.</p><p>Despite the heat, Amity’s cheeks actually grow cold, and there is a slight tingling in her neck. They aren’t really girlfriends yet, are they. No, they’re close, yes, but right now Amity doesn’t really have a right to refer to Luz as her… girlf— Fear and anxiety take their rightful place in Amity’s chest and abdomen. What if they just remain… friends with benefits? Is that the right term? No, Amity cannot be such a friend. Despite her grim exterior, Amity is a hopeless romantic, so she needs a relationship, she needs to be exclusive with Luz, she needs Luz to be her girlfriend. Officially.</p><p>That’s why she referred to Luz that way. Nothing strange about it. <em> Wishful thinking, just a subconscious slip of a tongue, </em> Amity tries to calm herself down. <em> Hopefully Ed and Em won’t notice. </em></p><p>Thankfully, Edric is too busy thinking about his date, and Emira is too focused on herself, retorting, “I <em> have </em> a girlfriend, she just lives in another city!”</p><p>“The city of your imagination?” Edric laughs, turning towards the door. <em> Yup, the Jerbo-loving fool didn’t notice my g-word either. </em></p><p>“In fact, no!” Emira huffs and blushes (which is a rare sight to see). “Her name is Viney, and she is a sweetheart and she’s going to pre-Med, and she’s strong and gorgeous and smarter than you! And she’s moving to the city soon!”</p><p>“Yeah, right.” Edric snorts and waves at the screen. “See you, Mittens, don’t do anything that I would do.”</p><p>“Shouldn’t it be ‘anything I <em> wouldn’t </em>do’?” Amity blinks into the camera.</p><p>“You heard me!” And, just like that, Edric disappears behind the door. </p><p>Emira just stares at the door for a few seconds and then turns her attention to the little sister. “Okay, girl talk.” Emira’s grinning — which is never good. “Lesbi honest, did you and Luz…you know?”</p><p>“W-what?” Usually Amity isn’t flustered when talking to her siblings. It’s very interesting how being in proximity to Luz (the girl is searching for some old regalia in Eda’s room) directly correlates to the level of blood in Amity’s face.</p><p>Emira cups her face with her palms, her phone now leaning against the wall on the vanity table. “Did you smooooooch?”</p><p>“E-emira!” It’s definitely the physical proximity to Luz. Otherwise, Amity should not be wearing her Beetroot colour.</p><p>“Sooo is it a yeeees or a no?” Honestly, sometimes Emira can be <em> too </em>sultry for her own good. And too infuriating.</p><p>“Yes and no.” Amity is very good at half-truths. <em> Half-lies? </em>Depends on how you look at it. “Well, not on the lips.”</p><p>“Ooooh, so there <em> were </em>smooches!” Emira is both gushing and giggling and it should not behove a seventeen-year-old prodigy to act like that. “Don’t worry, Mittens, kisses on the cheek are just the first step~”</p><p>“And on the neck,” Amity mumbles. At first the remark was meant to spite Emira, but now that she’s saying that out loud, it sounds really embarrassing for some reason. “And, um, my shins. And my elbows. And ears. And, um, pretty much everywhere except the lips.”</p><p>Emira doesn’t respond for a while, chewing on her lip. Then, the older sister asks very seriously, “Amity, are you sexually active? With Luz?”</p><p>“What?!” Amity drops the tablet — thankfully on the bed. Because it’s not, you know, shock-proof. <em> Actually with the amount of shock in my life I really need to get myself one of those military-grade shock-proof tablets. </em></p><p>“You have just described a behaviour that is very sexualised,” Emira continues in the same serious tone. “As your sister and legal guardian, I don’t mind you having sex with Luz — but I need to know.”</p><p>“W-we are not!” Amity squeaks, her face now rivalling the heat of the post-midday sun. “We would never—! I mean, we probably <em> would</em>, eventually, but—”</p><p>“It’s okay, Amity.” It’s <em> really </em>freaky to hear Emira call Amity ‘Amity’. The Mittens in Amity is terrified. “I want you to be honest with me. And I need to know that you’re using protection if you do engage in sexual activities. And that you and your partner are 100% consenting.”</p><p>“Em, I, I know that.” There is still embarrassment welling inside Amity, but, thanks to the Twins having no shame, the youngest Blight is used to very, <em> very </em> open discussions. “It’s just… Look, I do feel, uh, attracted to Luz. And I do want to do stuff… with her. But so far it’s all just kind of heated kissing? We aren’t even touching each other in intimate places or anything.”<br/><br/>Honestly, Amity feels like she’s in a confession booth — except Emira is nothing like a stern priestess, nodding compassionately and understandingly to the camera. “I get it, Mittens, I just know that fifteen is <em> that </em>age when teens stop being chaste.”</p><p>“You were fifteen two years ago,” Amity mumbles. <em> Seriously, I should take public speaking classes, I mumble and mutter way too much.  </em></p><p>“Exactly, which is why I know what I’m talking about.” Emira does make a good point. “You can imagine how horny I was two years ago talking to Viney.”</p><p>“I don’t—” Amity is glad she isn’t drinking anything because spit-takes are real and not just a comedic relief. In fact, there’s nothing comedic about choking on water. “I don’t want to imagine.”</p><p>“Well, you don’t have to.” Emira is smiling — which is reassuring, and at least it’s not a grin. “You are fifteen, so obviously you feel horny around Luz.”</p><p>Amity lets out a tiny gasp and replies automatically, the way Edric taught her: “As per my constitutional rights, I refuse to provide any further comments on the grounds that it may incriminate me.”</p><p>Emira chuckles and her (usually mean but now pretty nice) face turns a bit more sly. “You do know that doesn’t work in civil cases, right?”</p><p>Amity has <em> no </em>idea what that means, so she just repeats: “As per my con—”</p><p>“Okay, okay.” Emira’s giggle is as jingly as ever. “You have a right to deny the truth, no prob. I just want you to know Ed and I are here for you and Luz, and if you two are certain you wanna do it, do it — but research it first. Talk to us, talk to Luz’s mother, just don’t act on impulse. Age of consent is set at sixteen for a reason.”</p><p>“Now you just sound like Ed,” Amity mumbles (<em>here we go again, Amity, not speaking normally</em>), trying not to think about talking to her siblings or, God forbid, Camila, about having sex with Luz. “Don’t worry, Em, we are <em> really </em>not at that stage yet. We aren’t even technically dating.”</p><p>“Oh.” Emira blinks. “Well, the way you described it, that sounds a lot like dating.”</p><p>“I know.” Amity sighs and rolls over on her back, raising the heavy tablet above her face. <em> If I get a shockproof one and I drop it on my face, will I still be shocked? </em>“At first Luz was kissing me and touching me and so on, and I was too dumb to return her gestures, and then she stopped and it was a week of suffering, and then I started touching her and kissing her, and we talked this morning and Luz told me she’s into me and I told her I’m into her, and we’re gonna talk more in the evening and hopefully kiss for real.”</p><p>Emira listens to Amity’s tirade, nodding, then gives the girl a maternal smile. “That’s very sweet, Mittens, even though I sometimes feel like a background character in a cringeworthy sappy romance movie about you and Luz.”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Amity laughs back. “I sometimes feel like <em> I’m </em>a background character in a sappy romance movie about myself and Luz.”</p><p>“Aww, no, my sister can only be the main protagonist!” Emira coos, and Amity shows her her tongue. And doesn’t even drop the tablet on her face. What a champion.</p><p>“Don’t lie to me, Eda!!”</p><p>Amity blinks at the sound of Luz’s voice, screaming on top of her lungs. Which is something that Luz never does. Luz is <em> never </em>angry or bitter or enraged. </p><p>“Hey, I’ll call you back,” Amity tells Em, and ends the call, springing up from her bed.</p><p>Okay, Amity does not want to be a creep who is listening in to private conversations, even if they are arguments. But, at the same time, Amity does not want anyone to get hurt, so the green-haired girl (who really needs to dye her hair again) tiptoes out of the room, standing in the hallway pressed into the wall enough to be unnoticeable — but able to see the scene in Eda’s bedroom, the door to which is conveniently semi-open.</p><p>“Kid, you gotta calm down,” Eda is urging Luz in a loud, but level voice, standing a few steps away from the teenager, who is trying to push a piece of paper into the older fencer’s face.</p><p>“I’m asking again,” Luz proceeds in the same menacing tone. “What’s this?”</p><p>Luz is holding out a thin piece of paper, and Amity wishes she had perfect eyesight because it seems that this tiny piece of paper holds dark, unspoken secrets.</p><p>“That’s a prescription!” Luz says, making the secret spoken — and not that dark. </p><p>Amity exhales. It’s just a prescription, why is Luz making such a big deal of it? </p><p>“That’s a prescription for clenbuterol!” Luz continues, and Amity’s blood runs cold. <em> Oh. Oh.  </em></p><p>“Okay, okay!” Eda waves her hands in front of Luz as a pacifying gesture. “I admit, I did use clenbuterol to shed some of that stubborn belly fat. I still do.”</p><p>Amity shuts her eyes. Using clenbuterol is not the worst thing in the world. Yes, it’s basically doping but not really. All it does is help you lower your fat percentage during workouts. It’s barely doping — it’s even more tame than blood transfusions. Which are still a grey area in competitive sports.</p><p>“Good to know,” Luz says, and Amity doesn’t really hear any ‘good’ in her intonation.</p><p>“So now you’ll get off my case?” Eda says with building indignation that adults usually have when talking to particularly opinionated teenagers.</p><p>“Of course.” Oh no, Luz should <em> not </em> smile like this. For the first time, Amity sees <em> evil </em>in Luz, and that’s scary. “As soon as you explain these.”</p><p>There are more papers shuffling in the air, and Eda just bats at them, throwing the papers aside instead of taking them from Luz. “I don’t have to explain anything to you, kid. I think you’re forgetting yourself here.”</p><p>"Oh, really?" Luz picks up the papers, and Amity suddenly doesn't want to know what's written on them. "Then let me explain this for you."</p><p>
  <em> Luz, please, don’t… </em>
</p><p>Don’t what? Don’t escalate? Yes, Amity wouldn’t escalate. Amity would put the papers back where they belong and never mention this to anyone. But Amity is Amity, and Luz is Luz. And part of why Amity is in love with Luz is the foil prodigy’s brashness, her determination, her straightforward thinking. And her honesty. Her brutal, unyielding honesty.</p><p>“These are your testosterone cycles. All of them.” Luz is practically hissing at this point. “Meticulously planned. Dating back <em> decades</em>. Decades, Eda!”</p><p>No, Amity does not believe it. Amity does not want to believe it. Surely it was just some sort of hormonal therapy. Or a medical treatment plan. Or anything. Anything that just so coincided with standard doping practices. </p><p>“Look me in the eye, Eda, and tell me you didn’t dope.”</p><p>Eda does look Luz directly in the eyes, and maybe she shouldn’t. “I doped. And I am not gonna be all guilty and mopey about it. I did what it took.”</p><p>“That goes against everything you taught me!” Luz shrieks, throwing the papers once again. “This, this—”</p><p>“Does it?” Eda is getting too calm. Amity can stand heated arguments (she does live with Em and Ed), but Amity cannot stand cold, brutal malice. “I taught you to <em> win</em>. The rest is specifics.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“Do you think I chose foil because I liked it? No, it was simply the only thing available to me as a woman.” Eda’s words ring true, and Amity regrets leaving her tablet in the bedroom, because she wants to check. “And as a female athlete, in that era, in that country, I had to be <em> better </em>than anyone. By any means necessary."</p><p>"You are not better than anyone if you have to cheat." Luz looks devastated, the fire of her indignation giving way to open, visible despair.</p><p>"Think about it, kid, back then women weren't even <em> allowed </em>to choose the épée." Eda presses on. "Back then it was different. You don't know what female athletes went through back then. So don’t judge what you don’t know."</p><p>"You can't excuse doping just because you're a woman,” Luz tries, but her voice is weaker than ever. “Yes we have it harder but that should only push us to be better on our own!” </p><p>Luz is almost crying, and Amity wants to run to her and hug her. “Look, my Mom is from Dominicana, it was hard for her to fit in, but she never cheated just because local nurses have it easier!"</p><p>"Luz, you are an idealist and you don't know what you're talking about." Eda feels the winning ground already, her voice dripping experience and superiority. "Life is not black-and-white, it's more complicated. Your Mom is amazing, but she’s not an athlete. In big sports, it used to be different. In fact, it still is. Everyone dopes, Luz. If you don’t, you’re just gonna lose to everyone. If everyone cheats, how is that even cheating?”</p><p>“It’s still cheating,” Luz mumbles, a tiny sniff escaping her nose. “It might not be a big deal for you, but it’s a big deal for me. You ruined my career before it even started.”</p><p>“Kiddo, you’re overexaggerating.” The malice is gone from Eda’s tone now that she no longer has to defend herself. Perhaps, Amity thinks, Eda did go through a lot. Through more than she and Luz can imagine. “How does my doping ruin your career? I taught you everything I know, and you never once took drugs. So I was your coach, and then you learn I cheated at the Olympics, and now I’m suddenly the worst?”</p><p>“You cheating at the Olympics is not the worst thing,” Luz is trembling, and her voice is trembling in sync. “The worst thing is that you’ve been a dirty athlete <em> all this time</em>. It means every single training session, you were dirty. Every time you took me somewhere, you were dirty. Every time you gave me advice and I paid heed to it, I followed the advice of a fraud.”</p><p>“It’s been <em> years </em>since I doped.” Eda is almost maternal, no more defensive undertones in her voice, and the woman actually extends her arms for an embrace — except Luz does not step forward. “Come on, Luz, let’s just put this aside and move on.”</p><p>“I can’t move on.” Luz sounds determined, too determined. Bitter? Sad? Devastated? Perhaps all three, but mostly determined. “You <em> ruined </em> my entire life. Everything I’ve done so far bears this, this <em> mark </em> of being wrong. Now, even if I know I’m doing something right on the piste, the fact that <em> you </em>taught me that makes it wrong.”</p><p>“Kid, it’s not <em> that </em>important, you’re overexaggerating, as always.” Eda steps forward, but Luz takes a step back, towards the wall, almost disappearing from Amity’s view.</p><p>“Well, it’s important to me.” Luz’s voice carries all through the corridor, strong and, again, way too determined. Amity is legitimately scared. “Too bad you can’t see it. My Mom’s gonna pick up me and Amity to take us back to the city. And I’m hanging up the épée for good.” </p><p>“Luz, please listen to me, you—”</p><p>Amity steps into view — no one will notice her anyway — and sees Luz grab her épée from the corner and lift her knee slightly. Then, there is a horrible crunching sound. And then two pieces of metal fall on the floor — the guard with the grip, and the blade, which are now separate.</p><p>“Fuck.” </p><p>Amity hasn’t sworn since her parents left. And even then, she didn’t swear out of rage or sorrow or despair. Back then it was more of a surprise, because to Amity her parents never seemed alive in the first place.</p><p>Now her swear is fuelled by anger, by dismay, by the sheer betrayal of Luz’s trust. How dare Eda lie to Luz like that?! As someone Luz was supposed to trust, someone Luz was supposed to look up to, Eda should have been a shining example of sportsmanship. And, instead...</p><p>Sure, there might be truth to Eda’s words, but Amity doesn’t want to see it. Amity doesn’t need to be impartial. Amity is Luz Noceda’s girlfriend (almost), and so it is Luz Noceda’s side that Amity will always take.</p><p>So, while Amity wants to run towards Luz and hug Luz and kiss her worries away, Amity does something better: she runs back to her room and starts packing. Because this is what Luz needs right now, and Amity will be the best girlfriend (almost-girlfriend) that she can be.</p><p>Indeed, in about twenty minutes, Luz appears in her doorway with a suitcase in hand. “Amity—”</p><p>Amity rolls out her own suitcase into the corridor. “I know. Let’s go, Luz.” </p><p>Luz gives Amity a silent, thankful nod, and the girls depart. Eda does not leave her bedroom. The door stays closed. King is inside, which is fair, because he’s Eda’s cat, and not theirs.</p><p>‘Theirs’. There is finally a notion of ‘them’, and it is the light that Amity needs to push forward through the darkness. But is it enough for Luz?</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“So, I owe you that talk, right?”</p><p>Amity gulps, sitting on Luz’s bed, surrounded by plushies, looking at Luz Noceda’s prized possessions, glancing at all the book covers signed ‘Luz Noceda’s Private Library’, touching her bedsheets, so deep in her private space that Amity feels like an intruder.</p><p>But of course she isn’t an intruder. Luz invited her here, and Luz offered her to stay. In the car, Luz held Amity’s hand all the way, and kissed it, and Amity was smart enough to reciprocate.</p><p>But Amity is unsure that Luz is supposed to have that talk right now. Actually, Amity is unsure if Luz <em> wants </em>to have that talk right now. Luz doesn’t seem seething or apathetic, but a revelation like that can’t have gone unnoticed. It must have affected Luz, and Luz being quiet right now might be Luz processing all the Eda stuff. And all the quitting-fencing stuff. And there is definitely no time for all the maybe-dating-Amity stuff.</p><p>“You don’t have to, we don’t have to talk about us right now.” Amity supports her words by kissing Luz’s fingers which are now firmly clasped in her own hand. “I know how hard things are for you right now, how confusing, and…”</p><p>“And that’s why I want more clarity.” Luz smiles a tiny smile, and Amity can see it’s not a forced one. “Between us at least. I do want to talk more about how we feel about each other.”</p><p>“I love you,” Amity says and almost clasps her mouth shut. Except, well, for the hand that’s in her hand. Luz’s hand, that is. Damn, Luz doesn’t need more weight on her. Why would Amity say that now? “Please don’t feel pressured! I, uh, I just want to be honest with you.”</p><p>“And I can’t stress enough how much I appreciate it.” Luz kisses Amity’s knuckles and all is good again. “Honesty is what I need most right now. And can I be honest with you?”</p><p>Amity’s heart sinks to her gut, but she still nods.</p><p>“I really like you, Amity, a lot. But I still need to figure it out. I am <em> in </em>love with you, that much I understand and I’m sure of.” Luz smiles at Amity’s relieved sigh. “Besides, in Spanish, those words have more meaning and we say them way less often than you Americans.”</p><p>“I’m not—” Amity takes a breath. “I know, I know. You have to wait till you can say ‘te amo’.”</p><p>“Oh, no, no!” Luz blinks. “Actually, you have to wait till you can say ‘te quiero’. <em> Amar </em> is like another level of love. I don’t even say it to my Mom that often. Usually you say it to your spouse or your child — but never to your friends or siblings or your novia.”</p><p>“Novia?” Amity loves it when Luz says Spanish words. Except Amity doesn’t speak a word of Spanish and her native language has, like, zero similarities with it, so Amity can’t even guess things by the context.</p><p>“Um… girlfriend… Novia means ‘girlfriend’,” Luz whispers, looking away. “I… I don’t know if I’m your novia yet. I need… I need to think about it.”</p><p>“Okay.” Amity nods. Amity will wait. As long as it takes. Luz takes priority. “So, um… Do you want me to go home while you process all of this?”</p><p>“I want you to stay,” Luz says into Amity’s neck, nuzzling into the pale skin. (<em>Seriously, why can’t I get a tan?</em>) “If you want to. If you don’t wanna sleep in my bed, I can sleep on the floor. And my Mom will take you home any time you want.”</p><p>“No!” Amity retorts, even though the idea of sleeping in Luz’s bed is somehow more horrifying than the idea of going home and <em> not </em>sleeping in Luz’s bed. “I don’t wanna leave. I want to stay. With you. But, um...”</p><p>Luz kisses Amity’s neck just as the girl’s voice trails off. “Don’t worry, Amity. As I said, I <em> do </em> like you, and I mean it. It will not change. It’s not something that Eda can ever ruin. I just want to say I’ve never had a girlfriend before, romantic attraction is <em> super </em> new to me, and I want to be absolutely sure I am out of a possible depressive episode before such a commitment.”</p><p>“That’s…” Amity blinks, relieved. “That’s actually extremely mature. Who are you and what did you do to my Luz?”</p><p>“Mmmm, so I’m <em> your </em>Luz, huh?” Luz keeps nuzzling Amity’s neck with her nose, and Amity is pretty sure it doesn’t get better than this. “Amity, do you want to know how I feel right now?”</p><p>Yes, Amity does. Except Amity can barely function, but it’s fine. Though, perhaps, Luz should detach herself from Amity’s neck before talking about serious stuff like feelings. </p><p>“I feel like I want to kiss you on the lips.” Luz smiles at Amity, her face close to the European’s, no longer buried in the pale neck. “For real. Like girlfriends do.”</p><p>Amity is blushing because this is the moment she’s been waiting for, and yet it’s happening far from how she imagined it. First, they were supposed to talk nicely, decide on being girlfriends, go on a date, hold hands, and then, after a fun dinner at a fancy restaurant that Amity would pay for — and after chewing gum because Amity wants her breath to taste good — Amity would get a kiss from Luz.</p><p>Instead, she only gets a kiss from Luz.</p><p>Well, it’s not a kiss, really, more like a chaste peck: Luz just presses her lips against Amity’s and kind of holds there for a few seconds, and then withdraws.</p><p>“W-was this good?” Luz asks, blushing and looking away.</p><p>Amity grabs Luz’s chin and brings the girl’s face back to kiss it in the same manner. “It was perfect.”</p><p>After an especially quiet dinner, Camila calls Luz to her bedroom to talk to her alone. Amity is sitting on Luz’s bed, biting her lower lip and trying to calm down her racing heart.</p><p>Luz enters her bedroom, looking exhausted, and Amity feels like reaching out to kiss Luz. Which she, surprisingly, does. It’s still kind of weird, and the moment doesn’t seem right, and perhaps Amity <em> did </em>have to try to open her mouth? But it’s still good. Electrifying.</p><p>And hopefully Luz feels good too because the sad, quiet smile on the girl’s face gets replaced with a slightly-happier one. </p><p>“So… My Mom is gonna take me to a doctor tomorrow. To check for depression because of the whole Eda thing.” And the happy smile is gone, and Amity’s anxiety is already welling up in her gut. “A shrink from my Mom’s hospital that she knows and trusts. If… If you want to go home while I, uh, deal with stuff…”</p><p>Amity shakes her head. “No, no. I want to stay with you. Are you— What we talked about, are you still—”</p><p>“Amity, I still want to be with you.” Luz kisses Amity’s open palm. “Nothing in my mood can change what we talked about. You can be sure I’m really, <em> really </em>into you. Just… If I don’t show it enough because I’m moody or gloomy or anything, feel free to show it instead.”</p><p>“Like… this?” Amity leans in and kisses Luz on the neck — well, mostly below the ear, but that’s still the neck, last time Amity checked. (Amity almost failed Biology so she can be excused.) </p><p>Luz nods and kisses Amity’s palm again, holding a few seconds longer this time. “It’s gonna take a bit, but we’ll get there, okay?”</p><p>“Okay.” Amity nods.</p><p>“Hey…” Luz looks at Amity with the same sad quiet eyes, except this time Amity knows she is not the reason behind her loved one’s sadness. No, it’s Eda, and Amity will think about what to do with Eda later.</p><p>“Hey,” Amity repeats with a small smile that is only there to encourage Luz — but not to downplay her feelings.</p><p>“So we’re gonna be sleeping together.” Amity loves the blush on Luz’s cheeks when she says that. “Do you… do you wanna be the little spoon?”</p><p>“Y-yes!” Amity exclaims, trying not to let it be known that she would literally be okay with being a spoon, a knife, a fork, or a spork — as long as Luz keeps cuddling her.</p><p>Later that night, when Luz embraces Amity from behind and kisses her on the neck, Amity thinks that she will not sleep — all the emotions, all the anxiety, and all the excitement surely must render her insomniac.</p><p>Instead, Amity falls asleep immediately and sleeps better than she has ever slept before, and her dreams are filled with summer, sunshine, and Luz.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the sixth iteration of this chapter. I have written FIVE other iterations. Five. I think if I were to compile all the scenes I’ve discarded for this story, those would make an entire chapter.</p><p>Actually, if you guys are interested, I can post all those 'bloopers and deleted scenes' as an extra chapter once I have finished the story, just so you can read them. Please let me know in the comments if you’re interested! Or you could just leave a comment — they are really inspiring &lt;3</p><p>Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Two more to go~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Camila learns that her daughter is dating Amity, and Amity learns that screaming in terror is a good way of communication. Luz gets a new épée. Amity gets much better at Spanish. (No, she doesn’t.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Amity is <em> so </em> in love.</p><p>Amity loves the way Luz chuckles when she sees a stupid meme online that isn’t worth a real laugh. The way Luz frowns when checking the news. The way Luz twists her lips when eating something sour. The way Luz smiles when eating something sweet. </p><p>Luz twists her arms a little when she runs. Luz tiptoes when she wants to be sneaky. Luz makes sure to avoid stepping on cracks when outside. Luz makes sure to wash Amity’s slippers by herself.</p><p>Luz is radiant when talking. Luz is sombre when thinking. Luz is determined when working out. Luz is childish when watching TV. Luz is brash, and Luz is calm, and Luz is loud, and Luz is quiet, and Amity is so much in love with Luz that it’s not even funny.</p><p>Ed and Em keep asking Amity if she and Luz are dating, and Amity doesn’t know what to tell them. What Amity does know is that Luz is growing happier, genuinely happier, and Amity wants to assume it’s because of her, even if partly. Yes, Amity is vain. </p><p>It might also have something to do with Luz being home, with her mother, laughing and cooking and playing board games — because whenever Camila isn’t working double shifts, she helps in her own very special motherly way. And Luz grows happier by the day, and maybe it’s because of Camila and Luz herself, her perseverance — but Amity likes to think that it’s also because of her. (Amity is <em> very </em>vain.)</p><p>After all, at first Luz was all quiet and sad and tender, but Amity finally took charge and showed Luz all the love that she could. And that love, Amity wants to think, is healing and therapeutic. (Wow, Amity is really vain, isn’t she.)</p><p>Speaking of therapy, Camila did take Luz to a doctor, and the doctor found no signs of clinical or chronic depression, recommending vitamins and physical activity. Which is ironic because Luz already eats a bunch of exotic fruit her relatives send over from beautiful, sunny, tropical Dominicana (Amity wants to go there so badly), and as far as physical activity goes, the two fencers follow Lilith’s very precise instructions on deloading. </p><p>Their physical activity now is pretty much cardio, two mere days of training per week, and endless stretching. Amity does not mention the whole quitting-fencing thing, because if Luz carries on with her regimen, perhaps there’s still some hope?</p><p>Amity does not lose hope for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>The two girls are in the kitchen, cooking without Camila (surprisingly, nurses have way more double shifts than they show on TV), and the late sunrays of a serene, quiet August fall on the old-fashioned cooking book. Which is completely in Spanish, so Amity has no idea what they’re cooking, and Luz is just laughing and not telling her, and it’s fine, because Luz is <em> laughing</em>, and that’s what matters. </p><p>Naturally, Amity always jumps in at the opportunity to learn how to cook because their diet is less strict now — Lilith explained that letting go a bit before the tournament is good for overall health and endurance. (“A bit, Gus, don’t go full-on McLoose.”) </p><p>Besides, cooking is one of the essential life skills which Edric and Emira can’t teach Amity, because Edric and Emira can’t tell a pan from a pot. </p><p>“Mmmm, you truly are wife material,” Luz whispers, brushing off some cream from Amity’s lips, and Amity thinks that it’s very good that Luz is feeling better, gradually, step by step, and then Amity thinks that it’s a great thing that Luz is strong enough not to have fallen into misery because of Eda’s betrayal, and then Amity doesn’t think anything because Luz kisses her on the lips.</p><p><em> I really should try opening my mouth sometime, </em>Amity thinks, but the kisses are already perfect as they are, with Luz keeping her lips against Amity’s, and brushing them against Amity, and here we go again, zoning out.</p><p>“S-sorry, what did you say?” Amity the Flustered Beetroot asks.</p><p>“I said,” Luz repeats, unperturbed by Amity’s chronic inability to be coherent, “could you get some cilantro from the backyard?”</p><p>“Of course!” Amity agrees immediately because, frankly, if Luz suggested that the two of them should go and fight a deadly mythical beast, Amity would only ask if she needed to bring a charger on their epic quest. Without questioning whether the beast in question would, you know, eat them alive.</p><p>Luz stares at the smiling, enthusiastic green-haired girl (Luz helped Amity dye her hair, and it’s the best hair she’s ever had) and nods. “So… Um? Could you go get it? We really need it for this recipe.”</p><p>“Right!” Amity is still standing, frozen in place. “Uh… what’s ‘cilantro’?”</p><p>Amity really hopes it’s not of Beetroot origin because Amity is not a cannibal. Also Amity hopes that her limbs will start cooperating instead of distributing all the energy to her eyes which are drawn to Luz and don’t seem to be able to look away.</p><p>“Cilantro!” Luz repeats, frowning and rubbing her forehead. “Um, cilantro… es como… Uh… That green leafy thing we grow in the backyard? The one that you say tastes ‘funny but good’?”</p><p>“Ah, coriander!” Amity nods because finally her brain is forming itself back from the pile of mush that Luz Noceda’s eyes have reduced it to.</p><p>“Ah,” Luz nods as well, licking the wooden spoon (<em>stop thinking sexy thoughts, brain, it’s just cooking!</em>), “is that what you call it in the States?”</p><p>“I’m not from— nevermind.” With a deep sigh, Amity ventures out of the kitchen to go on her noble quest to fetch some cilantro for her brave Dominicana Knight.</p><p>Or, at least, that’s what Amity tells herself because, frankly, picking up herbs is boring in every conceivable scenario except a medieval fantasy setting. Besides, Amity needs to be brave because the backyard is taken by the evil Spider Kingdom — and Amity is terrified of spiders. </p><p>Thus, Amity the Mighty Witch needs to get her best equipment for this journey. Which, naturally, means her fencing breeches, jacket, and socks — and some big boots because spiders are sneaky and vile creatures, eager to crawl onto Amity’s legs.</p><p>Briefly, Amity ponders taking her épée, but ultimately decides against it, not in the least because, in every video game she’s played, witches cannot really equip swords.</p><p>Cilantro isn’t hard to find, so Amity soon turns back — the whole dressing-up process took her more than the actual task — and the spiders did not even dare attack the Mighty Witch of Darkness. (Name pending, but, being a metalhead, Amity needs something dark and edgy and demonic.)</p><p>“You look so gorgeous all geared up.”</p><p>Amity stops dead in her tracks, her eyes immediately plastered to Luz, who is standing outside, in the doorway, eyeing Amity up and down in her gear, and Luz seems lusty and sad and forlorn and Amity is worried.</p><p>Then Luz starts shaking slightly, and Amity is scared, because Luz was doing so much better, and now Luz is trembling, and it’s all because of Amity, because Amity reminded Luz about something, Amity reminded Luz about training, and fencing, and Eda, and Amity is a horrible girlfriend — who is not even a real girlfriend yet.</p><p>“I don’t wanna quit.” Luz is still trembling, clenching and unclenching her fists.</p><p>Amity is mortified, because she has no idea what’s going on. <em> Is Luz gonna dump me before we’ve even started dating? Should I call an Uber right now? </em> “L-Luz?”</p><p>“I don’t wanna quit,” Luz repeats and it might be just Amity’s mind playing tricks on her, but the Blight sees a flick in the gorgeous chestnut eyes.</p><p>“I’m not gonna quit!” Luz exclaims with a loud guffaw, unclenching her fists for good. “I’m not gonna quit!” she shouts louder, laughing and lifting her face to the sky. “Fuck you, Eda, I’m not! Gonna! Quit!”</p><p>Amity is still scared, because this doesn’t seem like the type of catharsis she would expect of her girlf— erm, friend. Special friend. Very special friend. Who kisses her and holds her hands and cuddles her when they sleep together. In said friend’s bed. <em> Doesn’t sound like girlfriend behaviour at all.  </em></p><p>“Amity, I’m not gonna quit.” Luz is laughing normally now, and Amity is torn between laughing as well and calling Camila because Luz might have gone insane. “I’m gonna win that tournament and prove to everyone that I can be the best while sticking to my ideals!”</p><p>“That sounds very good, Luz!” Amity finally cheers, now that she is (almost) sure that Luz hasn’t lost her mind. (Then again, Luz has always been kinda weird, so what should Amity expect anyway?) “I’m so proud of you!”</p><p>Meanwhile, Luz has descended the steps and runs towards Amity, grabbing her and picking her up bridal-style. It was a bad, bad idea to wear a hot suit outside, because it’s suddenly getting hotter by the second. On the other hand, Amity wearing the suit has provoked Luz to have this epiphany (<em>wow, I’m more vain that Ed and Em combined</em>) so it’s cool. Except it’s not cool, it’s actually very hot.</p><p>What is even hotter is Luz kissing Amity’s face while cradling her. This time, Amity opens her mouth a bit, parting her lips slightly, and it’s the best.</p><p> </p><p>______________</p><p> </p><p>Ever since that day, Luz is back to her cheerful self.</p><p>Luz gets more concentrated while stretching and pays more attention to nutrition. Amity observes through the window how Luz keeps practising her stance and moves in the backyard, a stick in her hand instead of a weapon. Fencer Luz is back, and it’s all back to the way it was before this summer.</p><p>The only thing is, Eda’s poster in her room is gone.</p><p>Luz drags Amity everywhere by the elbow, and kisses her every time they enter a room, every time they have to let go of each other’s hands. And Amity reciprocates.</p><p>Camila watches them and smiles. Amity is embarrassed beyond belief, but she is happy, Luz is happy, so surely Camila is happy that her daughter is happy?</p><p>Amity is happier than she could possibly be. (Amity could be even happier if Luz recognised Amity as her girlfriend, and, perhaps, if Emira tripped and fell onto her stupid face that keeps teasing Amity — but that’s beside the point.) Luz is soft and kind and wonderful. Amity cannot get enough of her. Amity is greedy, and rightfully so.</p><p>Amity loves pressing her lips to her almost-girlfriend’s skin, holding them there to savour the heat, the smell, the texture. Amity feels the freedom to run her fingers through Luz’s hair, touch her face, rub her cheeks with her thumb before she leans in to kiss her.</p><p>It feels like Amity’s dam of repressed romantic urges has finally cracked because Amity just cannot stop caressing Luz, kissing Luz, holding Luz close.</p><p>And Luz, in turn, nuzzles into Amity, kisses Amity everywhere (well, not <em> everywhere </em>because they are fifteen and not twenty-five), and holds Amity’s hand wherever she goes. Except, well, the bathroom. And the backyard, because Amity is still terrified of the backyard.</p><p>Seriously, no one should have that amount of spiders in their backyard.</p><p>One night, Luz comes to their bedroom late, when Amity is already lying on her side, her mind relaxing into the night.</p><p>“Hey, Amity,” Luz whispers into the European’s ear. “I figured it out.”</p><p>“Mmmm?” Amity asks, even though the only thing Amity wants to figure out is how much more sleep she can get before Luz starts snoring and inevitably wakes her up.</p><p>“It’s so simple,” the Latina proceeds, and Amity sleepily wonders if Luz has figured out a simple solution to the snoring problem.</p><p>“I’m yours,” Luz finally says, and it’s everything.</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Usually the morning comes to sweep the night away, letting every dream fade into day. Yet, Amity is awake with the first signs of daylight, and Luz is right there, and Luz is smiling in her sleep, and Amity is the happiest she’s ever been. Because, last night, Luz became <em> her </em>Luz.</p><p>And Amity needs to tell Luz that she is not just Amity. She is <em> her </em>Amity.</p><p>Thankfully, Luz wakes up pretty early. And then, immediately, Luz looks at Amity directly and whispers, “Good morning, <em> hermosa</em>.”</p><p>Amity does not know the meaning of that word, but Amity knows that last night Luz kissed her on the neck and said those wonderful words and went to sleep — but Amity didn’t.</p><p>No, Amity lay there, her heart warming up, her brain still in disbelief at the idea that the two of them might finally be together. Officially. And Amity fell asleep maybe three hours ago, but now Amity is wide awake, and Amity is going to talk to Luz.</p><p>“Luz…” Amity Luz’s hands in hers and sits up, prompting the other girl to sit in bed as well, pushing down her pyjamas. “Last night… What did you mean?”</p><p>Luz looks directly into Amity’s eyes, and Amity does not look away. The smile on the girl’s lips is small, and soft, and confident. Amity doesn’t push, as usual, but now Luz doesn’t need pushing.</p><p>“What do you want it to mean?” Luz asks, and Amity kisses her.</p><p>For once, Amity doesn’t let the beautiful fencer take lead, dragging her closer by the back of her head, and God, she has been waiting for this so long that it’s almost too good to be true. Her lips on Luz’s feel like they’ve belonged there all her life, and have only now found their right place. Her hand is running through the Latina’s short hair, while Luz has grabbed her other hand, interlacing their fingers. </p><p>Luz tastes like cinnamon rolls and mint and sweat. Luz tastes like laughter, and love, and fencing. Luz tastes like dreams, and hope, and devotion.</p><p>Luz tastes like victory.</p><p>Also, on a side-note, making out feels so much better than just kissing that these two activities should be treated completely separately. Perhaps it would be a good idea for Amity to make a chart about it.</p><p>Because seriously, if Amity enjoyed their kisses before, this is like a whole new level. Like she’s kissing Luz for the first time. Well, technically, she <em> is </em> kissing Luz properly for the first time. And it’s the first time they’ve kissed while officially dating. <em> Are we though? Are we officially dating? </em></p><p>“So we’re girlfriends?” Luz immediately asks upon breaking the kiss. “Like we made out and everything? But, like, shouldn’t we ask each other out?”</p><p>“Yes, Luz.” Amity giggles. “Yes we’re girlfriends. But sure, let me ask you out officially. Luz, will you be my girlfriend?” Amity flutters her eyelashes.</p><p>“Yes!” Luz doesn’t seem flustered at Amity’s pathetic attempt at flirting. “Amity, will you be my novia?” </p><p>“Sí,” Amity says, showing off her brilliant knowledge of the foreign language. “Por favor.”</p><p>“Aww, mi novia habla un poco Español!” Luz coos, throwing her arms around Amity. “Que quieres para comer?”</p><p>Amity blinks.</p><p>“Para desayunar?” Luz clarifies. </p><p>“Sí,” Amity says because she literally has no idea what is going on. “Uh, sorry, I literally speak five words of Spanish that I learned for you.”</p><p>“Aww, you’re adorable.” Luz kisses Amity on the lips, but it’s just a tiny peck, and Amity wants to make out some more because it’s literally better than heroin. Not that Amity is ever gonna try heroin, but the bliss from making out with Luz has gotta be the best feeling ever. “It’s okay, Amity, I’ll teach you all the Spanish you need! Including the swears!”</p><p>“You know I don’t swear,” Amity replies and takes Luz by the back of her head. <em> Is this how I initiate another make-out session? </em></p><p>“I know.” Luz giggles and doesn’t seem to get Amity’s idea. “Welp, we have successfully failed every trope with our relationship.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Amity still asks, giggling despite herself. (Because in reality she’d rather be making out with Luz but how the heck is she supposed to initiate this overly-complicated girlfriend activity?)</p><p>“Well, if romance fanfiction is to be believed,” Luz remarks, her face breaking into the famous Noceda Grin, “we were supposed to pine for each other, then accidentally kiss, then reveal our mutual pining to each other, then feel shocked, then bicker a little, and then make out for like ten minutes.”</p><p>Amity stares at her dense Luz. At her wonderful Luz. At <em> her </em>Luz. “...Can we skip directly to the part where we make out for ten minutes?”</p><p>Luz leans forward. “I thought you’d never ask.”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, it’s time to leave the room and have breakfast, and Amity is once again mortified. Which seems to be a very natural state to her, to think about it.</p><p>But who can blame Amity? Like, what is she supposed to say to Camila? ‘So, Miss Noceda, I’m dating your daughter now, could you pass me those huevos rancheros please?’</p><p>Thankfully, Luz solves the problem for her.</p><p>“Buenas, ma!” the cheerful brunette announces as the two girls walk into the kitchen. “Amity and I are dating now!”</p><p>“Yes, <em> mija</em>, I know.” Camila smiles, and perhaps the tears are just because she’s chopping onions? </p><p>“Oh, but we only now started dating!” Luz blinks, tugging Amity by the elbow. “Huh, Willow said the same thing when I texted her the news…”</p><p>“Uhuh.” Camila nods with a grin that is so evidently Noceda. <em> I wonder when I marry Luz and become a Noceda, will I be able to do one of those full-mouth grins?  </em></p><p>“Oh, and we made out!” Luz announces proudly as she sits at the table with her girlfriend. (<em>I’m her girlfriend! Eeeee~</em>) “Twice!”</p><p>“Oh God why,” Amity mumbles, testing the ground with her heel in vain hopes that it’ll swallow her.</p><p>“Okay, mija, you don’t have to tell me every time you two kiss,” Camila offers two identical plates to the girls. Except the one handed to Luz has maple syrup and sugar cubes and agave syrup and some corn syrup?, and brown sugar too, and Amity’s plate has waffles. Luz’s plate also has waffles, probably. Except they are so covered by all the sugar that they’ve been rendered invisible.</p><p>“Sounds good, ma!” Honestly, Amity is so happy to see Luz back to her chipper self. Apart from the whole dying-of-shame thing. “We’ll probably be doing a bunch of daily kissing anyway, like Amity’s tongue is so—”</p><p>“Aaaaa!” Amity screams because honestly, who needs words when the whole evolution of the language has led to the point where Luz would use the aforementioned language to speak about Amity’s tongue in front of her mother? Language is <em> so </em>overrated, screaming in horror is so much better.</p><p>“Amity?” Camila comes to the rescue, approaching the horrified girl with a maternal smile (which is something that Amity always wanted but never had). “If Luz becomes too much, you can sleep in my bedroom, I’ll take the couch.”</p><p>“N-no, Miss Noceda, thank you!” Amity exclaims, ashamed that wonderful, kind Camila would even consider something like that. Amity truly needs to stop being a flustered mess and get used to the fact she’s dating Luz. <em> Squee I’m dating Luz!!! </em></p><p>“Besides, I <em> love </em>sleeping with your daughter!” Amity boasts. Then pauses. Then repeats the phrase mentally. Then tumbles over her chair, falling on the floor. “That’s not what I meant, I sweat! I mean, swear!”</p><p>What a nice Freudian slip, considering that Amity is, indeed, sweating. Just a very, very hot summer. And a very, very hot Luz picking her up in a scoop. <em> Oh wow all this training must be paying off for Luz and her super buff arms. </em></p><p>“Amity, I have to ask,” Camila says, and Luz puts Amity down.</p><p>Oh no Camila is mad at Amity because Amity is a pervert and wants to sleep with her daughter and she will throw Amity out like the horrible evil witch that Amity is and— </p><p>“Have your siblings talked to you about sex?”</p><p>Okay, this is much, much worse. Camila should just throw Amity out instead of talking to Amity about sex. Because Amity wants to sex Luz. Like, a lot. And Luz is Camila’s daughter. And this cannot get more awkward. </p><p>“No, they haven’t,” Amity lies because of course Em and Ed have given her The Talk. Except Edric’s advice was ‘if your partner is drunk, wait till they get sober, and try to get written consent forms just in case you wanna film it’. And Emira’s advice was ‘stick your fingers inside her and roll with it’.</p><p>“Well, it seems I’ll have to talk to you about sex, okay?” Camila clarifies, and no it’s not okay because Amity will use that advice to sex Camila’s daughter in a year or two, and it’s so, so wrong.</p><p>“Oooh, can I talk to Amity about sex?” Luz seems very excited, which is super good, because it means Luz has 100 percent crawled out of her miserable state, and happiness is better than misery so why is Amity panicking again?</p><p>
  <em> Ah, because Luz and Amity and sex and I’m Amity and I’m dating Luz. </em>
</p><p>“Aaaaaa!” Amity screams again because it helped her so much the last time. <em> Amity the Terrified Witch. </em></p><p>“Okay, I won’t add to your feeling of overwhelm,” Camila says with a maternal smile. “But from now on the door stays open at night. If you two have sex before you’re both sixteen, I’m going to be extremely disappointed both as a mother and as a medical professional.”</p><p>“W-we! We aren’t— We weren’t—” Amity is thankful that her girlfriend’s mother is a nurse because Amity feels like she can’t breathe. Perhaps it’s just because Luz is embracing her again and squeezing too tight? (<em>Amity the Dishonest Witch.</em>)</p><p>“Of course, ma!” Luz doesn’t seem to notice that Amity is fainting in her embrace. “Besides, we’re gonna be sixteen in a bit, so it’s cool.”</p><p>“Luz!” Amity thinks she’s saying, but actually all she’s saying is ‘meep’.</p><p>So Luz carries on as Amity is going limp onto her. “Out of curiosity: if Amity and I take a shower together to save water, does it count as—” </p><p>But Amity doesn’t hear the rest, and Amity is thankful for that, and Amity is even more thankful that Camila is a nurse because Amity blacks out, collapsing in Luz Noceda’s arms.  </p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so cute, so wonderful, so perfect.”</p><p>Amity smirks as Luz plants kisses all across Amity’s cheek, neck, and shoulder. Now that the two are dating, Amity’s confidence is finally restored to its natural level. And it’s so liberating not to be a Beetroot anymore. Nothing beats being a fully-functioning human. Except maybe being a Witch.</p><p>“I’d give that flirting attempt a seventy out of a hundred,” Amity purrs into Luz’s ear, rolling over to pin her girlfriend to the bed. <em> Amity the Sexy Witch.  </em></p><p>“You and your private-school grading system,” Luz responds, nibbling on Amity’s ear from underneath the green-haired girl. “How about this one.”</p><p>Luz pushes off Amity’s body with ease and sits up in bed to look the girl in the eyes. “I won’t say anything about you being my light in the darkness because there is no darkness when you’re around. And won’t say anything about being sure of the future when I’m with you because without you there is no more future for me. You aren’t just a part of my life. You <em> are </em>my life, Amity.”</p><p>Amity’s mouth is open, and it’s not because she’s panting. It’s because she’s in sheer awe of her girlfriend who, it seems, has more than a few tricks up her sleeves. Except Luz is not wearing sleeves, her bare shoulders appetising and inviting. Inviting Amity to kiss them, that is.</p><p>“How’s that?” Luz asks with a grin, and Amity follows up on her desire and presses her lips against the tan flesh. “That’s gotta be at least a ninety-five, right?”</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m your first girlfriend,” Amity says instead, taking in the smell of sweat on Luz’s skin. (<em>Amity the Non-Creepy Witch.</em>) “You’re such a great flirt.”</p><p>“Hopefully you’re also my last girlfriend,” Luz says and Amity freezes at the unusual wording of her girlfriend’s phrase. </p><p>“Sorry,” Luz says, “what I mean is, I don’t really believe in all these things they say: ah, you’re young, you’re gonna date around, don’t think about the future, don’t get attached, it’s just a fling et cetera et cetera.”</p><p>Amity listens silently because, frankly, what else can she do? <em> Amity the Attentive Witch.  </em></p><p>Luz takes Amity’s hands in hers. “It might sound weird for a fifteen-year-old, but I took so long before I could call you my girlfriend because once I’ve done it, I’m ready to go to the end. I understand if you don’t share my commitment, and—”</p><p>“I have wanted to marry you since the day I saw you at the gym,” Amity the Honest Witch blurts out. “Like, I literally made a list of people I would invite to our wedding.”</p><p>“Oh.” Luz blinks. “Wow. Cool. Good to know.” Amity always feels great when she can make Luz all shy and quiet. “So did your extravagantly hot siblings make it on the list?”</p><p>“Luz!” Amity huffs, shrugging off her girlfriend. </p><p>Yes, Amity might be a confident girl (<em>Witch!</em>) but, honestly, some of that confidence really fades when she’s being compared to the two beautiful, handsome, intelligent geniuses that Edric and Emira are.</p><p>“Hey, I’m dating <em> you</em>, hermosa,” Luz defends herself, trying to lean in for another kiss, which Amity pushes away reluctantly. “Not your impossibly sexy brother.”</p><p>“Okay, that’s it,” Amity concludes. “I’m gonna kiss the stupidity away.” </p><p>And so she does, grabbing Luz by the back of her head — a gesture that the two have agreed on, lest there be any more uncomfortable miscommunication on Amity’s side when Amity wants to make out and Luz lives up to her reputation of being utterly oblivious and not picking up clues.</p><p>“Do you know that every time I touched you,” Luz says upon breaking the kiss, “even in spring, all I needed was your lips against mine?”</p><p>“God, you’re so romantic,” Amity replies whereas in reality she wants to call Luz a sap and kiss her some more. “Sometimes when you touched me, I wanted you to kiss me too. All the time, in fact,” Amity admits.</p><p>“You sap.” Luz grins. “And you’re almost as cute as your exuberantly sexy sister. By the way, is Emira single or—” </p><p>Seeing Amity’s sour expression, the once-again-cheerful Latina stops and laughs light-heartedly. “Aww, don’t be jealous, Amity! You know I’m just kidding. I only have eyes for you, not your extravagantly hot siblings.”</p><p>“You know, that thing you said about winning the tournament?” Amity smirks, getting used to Luz being a constant tease. After all, now Amity can stop the teasing. With her lips. “Forget it, I will <em> demolish </em>you.”</p><p>“Ooooh, Amity, it’s too early for <em> that</em>, we’re just fifteen~”</p><p>Before Amity can trip over herself or do something equally stupid or humiliating, Luz asks a more serious question: “Do you know what helped me climb out of the pit of misery I was in?”</p><p>“My luscious lips?” Amity suggests partly because she’s worried Luz isn’t ready to talk about it, partly because she’s sure her luscious lips <em> have </em> had some part in her girlfriend’s recovery.</p><p>“Yeah, that too.” Luz nods, playing into Amity’s vanity. “But also a realisation that I’m a person.”</p><p>Amity blinks. <em> Is this one of these things that get lost in translation? </em> Being bilingual, Amity can’t always get the finest semantics of non-native speakers. “Uh… You <em> are </em>a person.”</p><p>Luz giggles. “I know. It’s just… I guess for me it was always Eda, my Mom, and me. I never considered us separate.” Luz starts rubbing circles into Amity’s hand, like she always does when she’s nervous or thinking. “It’s like… The three of us have always been this sort of bubble, cocooned together, and I thought we were going in the same direction. So when it turned out Eda had been going in the opposite direction all along, it hurt. It hurt because it’s her right, but I thought she had obligations to me as a mentor. It hurt because I still can’t just brush her off, I can’t disregard her like I’m supposed to do with toxic people. Eda taught me everything I know about fencing. Without her, I wouldn’t be here.”</p><p>Amity the Attentive Witch keeps listening.</p><p>“Eda <em> thinks </em> she’s on my side, but she isn’t. I’m not going competitive for her sake. I’m not going competitive to prove her wrong. I’m going to win this tournament for <em> me. </em>For myself. Maybe for the first time in my life I can silence the guilt inside and do something for myself without blaming myself for selfishness.”</p><p>Amity is speechless. Well, no, actually she isn’t. “Fudge.”</p><p>Luz grins. “You… You do realise your chronic inability to say ‘fuck’ is kind of ruining the gravity of my speech, right?”</p><p>“I… I’m just so in awe of you,” Amity confesses. “You have all these things inside you bottled up, and I feel privileged to be able to hear you out. Your determination is like this shining light that’s so bright I feel warmer just by being near.” </p><p>“I know, right!” Luz exclaims boastfully, throwing her fist up. “I’m just like Azura! Post-book-three, of course.”</p><p>Amity nods. “Naturally.”</p><p>“Ooooh, that reminds me,” Luz immediately shifts from her sombre-ish perspective to the one that’s more natural to her: energetic cheerfulness. “I bought this really cool fan-made Azura/Hecate comic that HeccFan69 made after the creators made Hecazura canon.”</p><p>Amity blinks. “I, uh, I haven’t heard of that artist.”</p><p>Suddenly, Luz blushes and looks away — which didn’t really happen much before, and should definitely never happen now, since Luz and Amity are dating and all. <em> I wonder what our ship name would be if we were like Hecate and Azura. Amiluz? Lumity? </em></p><p>“Uh, um, never mind, I just, er, wanted to tell you about that comic ‘cause I thought you were following the artist.”</p><p>Amity is always happy for more Good Witch Azura content. “I could look them up. And then we could look at the comic you bought! And role-play it like we always do!”</p><p>Despite Amity’s excitement, Luz seems to be reddening by the second. “I, uh. Amity. It’s eighteen-plus. The comic is NSFW.”</p><p>It takes Amity the Excited Witch a few seconds to register the new incoming information. “Oh.” Amity the Enlightened Witch blinks. “Oh!”</p><p>Luz chuckles. It seems the two of them do have some sort of shared blushing resources that they tap into. Because the more flustered Amity is becoming, the less flustered Luz is becoming. “Heh, when I suggest things like that, I always like the blush on your face, but now you really got me.”</p><p>“Well, I didn’t know it was not-safe-for-work!” Amity whispers the last words, lest Camila hear it. “How come you bought an eighteen-plus comic?! You’re not even sixteen!”</p><p>Luz shrugs, her confidence once again skyrocketing at the sight of Amity being all messed-up at the idea of reading Hecazura pornography with her girlfriend. “I bought it online. It’s digital. You just click the ‘yes, I’m eighteen’ box. Come on, I know you read Explicit Hecazura fics, Mittens~”</p><p>“Don’t call me Mittens,” Amity the Lying Witch says, “and it’s different! I, uh! Let’s change the topic!” </p><p>“All right,” Luz agrees benevolently and all too readily. “Then do you wanna role-play the scene where Azura and Hecate make out in the recent official comic book? Because I <em> really </em>want to make out with you. Like, all the time.”</p><p>“Oh yes!” Amity the Horny Witch exclaims, failing to remark that technically the two witches are just kissing in the comic, not making out.</p><p>But honestly, who cares?</p><p>“You can kiss me anytime,” Amity says upon finally moving away from her girlfriend’s lips. “You know that, right? Any time.”</p><p>“Really? Even on the piste?” Luz wiggles her eyebrow, and Amity withstands the flirting just like she would flirt back to Luz all those times when the two of them were fencing.</p><p>It’s a cool trick: Amity just imagines the two of them in gear, and flirting becomes much, much easier. “Well, I don’t see a reason why not. Corps-à-corps is legal in épée,” Amity winks.</p><p>“Ooooh, kinky!” Luz smirks, then her smile fades a little, and the girl chews on her bottom lip. “I <em> am </em> gonna return to the piste, you know.”</p><p>“I know.” Amity nods, taking Luz’s hands in hers. “You are amazing. I know you’re gonna do your best at the tournament.”</p><p>“I’m gonna <em> win</em>,” Luz laughs, booping Amity on the nose. “It’s just a week until the tournament anyway.”</p><p>“Thanks for reminding me,” Amity mumbles, her gut twisting with anxiety at the idea of the fateful tournament being so near. It’s been closing up on Amity for months, but only now is it truly, <em> truly </em>close.</p><p>“Yeah, except I kinda broke my épée,” Luz says light-heartedly, truly having moved past the experience. (At least that’s what it seems like to Amity the Insightful Witch.) </p><p>“Um, Luz, don’t be mad at me, but I’m not giving you mine.” Amity looks away in shame. “Sorry, it’s too personal of an item. It’s not something I can share even after we get married.”</p><p>“Ah, understandable.” Luz nods, tapping at her lips thoughtfully. “Kind of like sharing sex toys?”</p><p>“Luz, you CAN’T say that!” Amity gasps, almost falling back on the bed. <em> I really need to work on my balance.  </em></p><p>“Pretty sure I just did.” Luz chuckles. “Don’t worry, Amity. I know someone who can help.”</p><p> </p><p>_______________</p><p> </p><p>“When I became a coach, I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter.”</p><p>Off in the distance, Amity is chasing after Luz, who is holding two ice-creams and laughing as she runs away across the pavement.</p><p>“I wanted to call the shots. Be the boss. Lead an entire generation of fencers to victory.”</p><p>With a sharp yelp, Amity tackles Luz to the ground, reaching for the ice-cream — which Luz immediately bites, much to the dismay of the green-haired girl.</p><p>“I thought my high moral standing and past achievements would render me a perfect, if slightly distant, mentor.”</p><p>Now that both ice-creams (or, rather, what remains of them) are on the ground, Amity is sitting on top of Luz and trying to bite her ear.</p><p>“Lilith, Amity is biting!”</p><p>“And yet here I am.” Lilith sighs and walks towards the two girls, trying not to look at the passers-by who are staring at the commotion with curiosity.</p><p>“Lilith, are you narrating again?” Amity asks, letting her girlfriend’s ear free. (<em>Squee girlfriend I have a girlfriend~</em>) “Luz stole my ice-cream!”</p><p>“We are dating now!” Luz retorts, wrestling free from Amity’s deadly grasp. “It’s not <em> your </em> ice-cream, it’s <em> our </em>ice-cream.”</p><p>“Gasp!” Amity gasps, getting up and brushing off her clothes. “My girlfriend is a communist. I want a divorce!”</p><p>Luz gets up from the ground, and the passers-by live up to their name and pass by, no longer attracted by the show. “What’s up with Americans hating communism with such passion?”</p><p>“I’m not American,” Amity says. “Lilith, please tell Luz I’m not American.”</p><p>“Why are you two such children?” Lilith sighs and shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Actually, now that you’re dating, I’m glad you’re children and not adults.” </p><p>“Because otherwise I would be sexing Amity?” Luz immediately chips in, waltzing around the older woman. “And you would be weirded out that I’m sexing your kinda-daughter?”</p><p>Amity is slightly content that she finished her drink way back in the shopping centre because otherwise she would be spitting it in Luz’s face. Or Lilith’s face. Or her own face. It would depend on the velocity of the spitting and the wind and the extent of shock that Amity would be feeling at that given moment. (Amity is good at math.)</p><p>“We’re not— I’m not— Lilith is not—” Amity sputters, then turns to her coach. “Luz is silly, please don’t listen to her, Mom. I mean, Coach!” </p><p>“Aww, Lilith, can you adopt Amity for the day?” Luz coos, throwing her arm around the green-haired Beetroot. “Kinda like Eda adopted me for the summers?”</p><p>Amity feels worried because it’s the first time Luz has mentioned Eda in a normal-slash-everyday context since the whole cheating thing. And perhaps Luz shouldn’t be moving forward at such a swift pace? However, that worry quickly dissipates at what Amity hears next.</p><p>“Sure thing.” Lilith puts her hand on Amity’s shoulder, and Amity notes with content how that gesture seems warm and maternal. “Since we’re not training, I don’t have to be Coach Lilith today. Might as well be Mom Lilith if Amity wants me to.”</p><p>“I want to.” Amity sniffs, and then Lilith ruffles her hair. “This is the best day of my life.”</p><p>Luz draws Amity in by the waist, smooching her with ice-cream-y lips. “What about the day when I kissed you for the first time?”</p><p>Amity licks the residue ice-cream off her lips. <em> If that’s the only way I’m gonna get my ice-cream — off Luz’s lips — then so be it. </em> “You heard me, Luz.”</p><p>Luz perseveres with her smooching, and Amity keeps licking off the ice-cream, not even caring that it’s gross and unhygienic. “What about the day when Disturbed released their cover of <em> The Sound of Silence</em>?”</p><p>Amity ponders for a moment. “It’s a tough competition.”</p><p>Luz withdraws the now-clean lips from Amity’s now-stained-with-ice-cream face. “What about the time when Boscha tripped over a wire and fell on her face, and then got up to kick the wire, and tripped and fell again?”</p><p>Amity grins. “Now you’re pushing it.”</p><p>Lilith clears her throat loudly. “So, lovebirds. We’ve already been to the movies. And to the ice-cream parlour. And we dropped by the pet store even though you don’t even have pets. And we went to the CD store even though you don’t have any devices that can play CDs. Do you want to go anywhere else before we can, you know, do what we came here for and buy the épée?”</p><p>“Oh, I dunno.” Luz rubs her chin, disregarding Lilith’s utter exasperation. “We <em> could </em>go buy a couple of wedding rings so that Amity and I could keep them for years and when we propose to each other, we could be like ‘remember those rings from way back’ and it would be cute and nostalgic.”</p><p>Amity does blush, but it’s a nice blush, not a Beetroot one. A calm, quiet blush at the sheer adorableness (<em>is that even a word?</em>) of Amity’s perfect girlfriend. Then, Amity reaches for Luz with her pinkie fingers and wraps it around Luz’s pinkie.</p><p>“You two are very sweet together,” Lilith remarks with a strange mixture of pride and envy in her voice.</p><p>“Yes we’re very sweet together, aren’t you proud of your daughter-Amity?” Luz wiggles her brow. </p><p>Lilith nods, ruffling Amity’s hair once again. “Of course I’m proud. Now, as for you, Luz, if you want to keep dating my daughter—”</p><p>“Aaaaaaa,” Amity says because it works. Seriously, if Amity had known before that screaming in terror would work wonders for retaining her sanity, she would have started resorting to mortified screams way earlier.</p><p>“So how did you manage to break your épée?” Lilith asks Luz as the three walk towards a contemporary-looking mall-thing, the kind that offers sandwiches and tyre repairs at the same place. </p><p>And by ‘contemporary-looking’, Amity means ‘shabby’. And no, Amity is not classist. She can just see shabby from a mile away. Even though Amity cannot ever get used to ‘miles’ as a unit of measurement.</p><p>The lips of Luz Noceda’s lips curl down, dropping the usual smile. “Um, I… I’d rather not say.”</p><p>Amity comes to the rescue — lest her girlfriend get sad again. Seriously, Amity will do anything just to keep Luz happy. Even if it means listening exclusively to Conan Gray and Katy Perry. “I was listening to a metal song called <em> Diggy Diggy Hole </em>and I was holding Luz’s épée and I started digging the ground absent-mindedly and it broke.”</p><p>Lilith stares at Amity for a few full seconds, then nods. “Sounds like something you would do. I should probably open my mouth less often because I don’t want to hear some answers to the questions I ask.”</p><p>Luz immediately joins in. “Oh, Amity, you should keep your mouth <em> more </em>open, because honestly, that thing you do with your tongue is—”</p><p>“Aaaaaaaaaa!” Amity repeats with practised ease. Seriously, Amity is a natural. Screaming in embarrassment is like a second nature to her. She should probably apply to partake in a screaming competition. But not like, a scream metal competition. Just… screaming.</p><p>“Could you please be a tiny bit less nauseating?” Lilith begs, and Amity notes with pride and comfort how nice it is to hang out with non-Coach Lilith. Even if she’s not really her Mom-Lilith. “You are very cute and everything, but I <em> am </em> going through a rough break-up.”</p><p>“You’re <em> always </em>going through a rough break-up,” Luz remarks. “Eda told me about the poor boy you dumped in high school because he misused his grammar.”</p><p>“Of course I dumped him!” Lilith retorts, stopping dead in her tracks some ten steps away from the mall-thing. “He asked me, ‘Lily, can I kiss you?’ when it’s obviously <em> ‘May </em> I kiss you?’ Oh, I don’t know, Jeremy,” Lilith speaks into the air with malice, “<em>can </em> you? <em> Can </em>you?”</p><p>Amity doesn’t pay attention to Lilith’s tiny nostalgic meltdown. Instead, she pays attention to how Luz doesn’t even flinch when mentioning Eda’s name. Truly what the two of them talked about yesterday is the way it is: Luz is independent enough to move on, and benevolent enough not to hold a grudge that stains her entire experience with Eda.</p><p>“Oh, Jeremy, so you ‘didn’t mean nothing’, so that means you <em> did </em> mean <em> something</em>!” Lilith carries on, until Amity taps her hesitantly on the shoulder, making the woman blink. “Um, sorry, I zoned out.”</p><p>“Lilith, since we’re being all chummy today with no chain of command and stuff,” Luz says, dancing from foot to foot over a giant crack on the asphalt — which makes Amity more than a little unsettled, “I recommend that you try dating women because clearly dating men isn’t working out for you.”</p><p>“Um, I <em> would </em> take romantic advice from a fifteen-year-old hormonal teenager who’s been in a relationship for two days—” Lilith begins sarcastically.</p><p>“Still two days longer than you’ve ever dated anyone~” Luz sing-songs back, jumping back and forth across the crack, prompting Amity to reach for her girlfriend and tug her on the arm.</p><p>“<em>But</em>,” Lilith proceeds, crossing her arms, “believe it or not, I’m actually straight.” </p><p>“Haha, good one, Mom.” Amity laughs. Lilith does have a good sense of humour after all.</p><p>“Yeah, you almost got me, Lilith!” Luz keeps laughing. </p><p>“No, I mean it! I’m not like Edalyn!” Lilith exclaims, drawing some more stares from passers-by. <em> Boy, people round here are curious aren’t they. </em> “And I mean that I’m unlike her in <em> every </em>aspect of life, not just sexuality. Like, I’m the complete opposite. Totally.”</p><p>“Mom, please don’t embarrass yourself,” Amity whispers loudly, looking around. “Everyone knows that if you start with foil, you’re bi.”</p><p>“Yup, I can attest to that!” Luz nods sagely, finally giving up her anxiety-inducing crack-hopping. “I’m bi, Eda’s bi, that dude that won the Olympics is bi. Let’s ask the gang.”</p><p>“No, wait, that’s—” Lilith tries to interrupt, but Luz is already dialing ‘the gang’.</p><p>For a second, Luz just holds the fun by her ear, then grins. “Hey, Gus, Willow, so you know how Lilith started with foil, you think she’s bisexual?” Immediately, Luz puts the phone on speaker.</p><p>Gus is the first to reply. “Nice of you to call while we’re busy, but yeah, that’s how it works, doesn’t it?”</p><p>“Wait, guys—” Lilith tries again, but the surrealism of the situation prevails.</p><p>Willow joins in. “Uh, no, I’m pretty sure Lilith is not bi.”</p><p>Lilith exhales in relief, closing her eyes. “Thank you, Willow.”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure she’s pansexual, see, the difference is—”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter!” Lilith shouts, drawing the attention of people around her. (Again.) “Who needs labels anyway? If I wanna kiss men, I’m gonna kiss men! If I’m gonna kiss women, I’m gonna kiss women — and I’m gonna be better at it than Edalyn!”</p><p>“Um, Lilith—” Amity tries to point at something, but the coach is already going on another rant.</p><p>“And I would kiss <em> all </em>the women and they would be like ‘Oooh Lily~’ and I would tell Edalyn, ‘Ha! In your face!’ because clearly I would be—”</p><p>“Lilith!” Amity shouts, and the woman stops, blinking at the two girls in confusion.  </p><p>“Is this a bad time?”</p><p>Lilith turns around sharply, almost losing her balance, and only her superior fencing skills prevent the coach from tumbling over. “Hello, Camila! Didn’t expect to see you here!”</p><p>“I’m fifteen,” Luz chips in, hanging up the phone, lest Gus and Willow listen in some more, “I don’t have enough money to buy an épée, of course I asked my Mom to come.”</p><p>Lilith immediately reaches to shake Camila’s hand — which is graciously clad in a summer glove. “Such a pleasure to see you! You took me by surprise, haha.”</p><p>“Did you just say ‘haha’ out loud?” Amity asks, even though Amity knows she has also committed the same cringeworthy sin. More than once.</p><p>“Uh, go do some squats!” Lilith waves off her daughter-for-the-day. “Or, um, buy some more ice-cream! Here’s some money!”</p><p>Amity stares at the piece of paper that Lilith has handed to her. “Um, that’s a coupon for a free videochat with a webcam model. Why would—”</p><p>“Haaa, that’s Edalyn’s!” Lilith immediately exclaims, snatching the coupon away from the stupefied fencer. <em> Is my not-Mom soliciting such services? </em>“You know Edalyn, Cami, she’s always like that, my sister, haha.” </p><p><em> Oh no, </em> Amity suddenly realises while Luz just groans, prancing from foot to foot, obviously used to her mother being flirted with. <em> Both Clawthornes are gay for Luz’s Mom. But I cannot let it happen. Because if Lilith marries Camila, I will be Luz’s sister and I need to be Luz’s wife instead.  </em></p><p>“Lilith!” Amity exclaims with fake cheer, “so how is your fiancé?”</p><p>“My fiancé?” Lilith blinks.</p><p>“Yes, the one you’re getting married to!” Amity grabs Lilith’s arm, practically dragging her away from Camila. “Oh, Miss Noceda, it was so romantic, Lilith proposed to him in Paris, and they’re going—”</p><p>Amity keeps chirping over her shoulder as she leads Lilith away from her girlfriend’s mother, into the tiny room that is the shop that every fencer knows because that’s the only place where you can get your épée made to your specifications. </p><p>“We don’t make épées anymore.”</p><p>Amity stares at the girl behind the counter in sheer disbelief. The tiny office is crammed with the four of them stuck in this miniscule space, and yet five cooling fans make this slightly bearable. If ‘bearable’ entails breathing in everyone’s sweaty scent. Then again, Luz smells wonderful, and so her sweat smells wonderful, and Amity is not a pervert who would love to just keep smelling her girlfriend instead of getting said girlfriend an épée. From a shop that doesn’t even sell épées anymore.</p><p>Lilith leans over the counter — which, ironically, is the only piece of furniture in the office. Like, there aren’t even any chairs. <em> Perhaps there are some chairs in the back office? </em> “What do you mean, you don’t make épées? Your shop is literally called ‘Making épées For Fun And Profit’.” <em> What a ridiculous name. </em></p><p>“Yeah, man, I don’t care,” the girl responds with a fake yawn. “That was my Mom’s idea, she’s the swordsmith or whatever. I’m eighteen, I run this gig now, so I’m telling ya: no. more. épées.”</p><p>“And what, pray tell,” Lilith hisses like the charming individual that she is, “is your genius business model to repurpose a shop that literally makes a very specialised type of equipment?”</p><p>“I’m gonna turn this into a tattoo parlour,” the girl says with confidence, revealing a very cute smile that Amity would be attracted to if Amity wasn’t already attracted to Luz Noceda’s smile — which cannot possibly have any competition anywhere.  </p><p>“A tattoo— A tattoo parlour?” Lilith shrieks, slamming her fist against the counter. “You will call your genius mother this very instant, or I swear I will put you over my knee and spank you like the little brat you are!”</p><p>“Yeah, whatever, geezer,” the girl snorts and grins, leaning over the counter so that her forehead almost touches Lilith’s. “I will mess you up. Try me.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t you dare talk to my mother like that,” Amity joins in, even though it is a very sombre thought that her ersatz-mother has gotten so old as to be rambling and creaking and whatever else Lilith is doing.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry, Amity, she doesn’t know what Lilith Clawthorne is capable of,” Lilith announces with victorious undertones while Camila and Luz just watch the scene with amusement.</p><p>Suddenly, the girl freezes and leans back. It seems to Amity that she would have sat down if she had, you know, a decent chair to collapse onto. “Clawthorne? As in, of <em> the </em> Clawthorne fencing family?!”</p><p>Lilith tosses her hair victoriously and regally. “Yes, as a matter of fact—”</p><p>“So you’re related to the Russian Rapier?” The girl is staring at Lilith starry-eyed, a goofy smile on her no-longer-disinterested face.</p><p>Lilith sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose.  “Yes, Edalyn is my sister. I wish I could say she was adopted, but alas.”</p><p>“That’s so dope, man!” the girl squees. <em> So much cringe. Is this what my generation sounds like to Lilith and Camila? </em> “I am, like, her biggest fan. And she’s <em> so </em>hot! Like, she’s def on the top ten sugar mommies list.”</p><p>Lilith sighs while Luz and Amity simultaneously scrunch their faces in disgust. “Call your mother and ask her to make a weapon for my student…” The coach pauses. “And I will forget that you just called my little sister hot. And, uh, whatever else. ...And I’ll ask Edalyn to send you an autograph.”</p><p>“Deal!” the girl screams, immediately grabbing her phone. “Leave your specs here and be back in a few hours for the fitting!”</p><p>Practically ushered out of the tiny shop, Amity blinks in wonder. <em> Now that was weird. </em>The European grabs her girlfriend by the waist, partly because Amity is possessive, partly because Luz does it herself, partly because Luz always grounds Amity. Partly because Amity wants to.</p><p>“Hello, Lilith, fancy seeing you here.”</p><p>Amity turns her head towards the voice, taking in a short woman with a collar that almost covers half of her face, with an imposing aura. <em> Dammit, Amity, there’s no such thing as ‘imposing auras’.  </em></p><p>“Can’t say I feel the same, Kiki,” Lilith parries verbally — but Amity can see that she would rather parry with a sword. Or, well, an épée. <em> Hehe, words and swords. Should be a new game.  </em></p><p>“Oh!” Luz exclaims cheerfully, stepping away from Amity (<em>dammit</em>) to lighten the mood (<em>my hero</em>). “Kiki, verdad? Es un nombre Mexicano, ¿no? ¿Cómo estás, Kiki?”</p><p>The woman slowly focuses her (imposing) gaze on the happy face, then looks back at Lilith. “Belos sends his regards.”</p><p>With that, the woman starts walking away at a pace that is nothing short of menacing. <em> Dammit, there’s no such thing as a ‘menacing pace’, I have such a wild imagination. </em></p><p>“Tell the bastard,” Lilith shouts at her back, “that I’ll never forgive him! And that my team will wipe the floor with his team!”</p><p>In the awkward silence that follows (<em>wow my kinda-Mom is fierce</em>), Luz suddenly puts her hand on Lilith’s shoulder. “Ex-girlfriend?”</p><p>“No, she—” Lilith pauses, then sighs, nodding. “Kind of like that. A bad breakup, you might say.”</p><p>“Understandable.” Luz nods somberly. “I mean, Amity and I are never gonna break up, we’re gonna get married and buy a house by the oceanside and adopt a cat <em> and </em>a dog and then—</p><p>“Thank you for your unyielding support,” Lilith hisses, trying to push the clingy hand off her shoulder. “Your mutual devotion is truly inspiring.”</p><p>“Don’t you think calling your opponent a bad name is rather uncouth?” Camila asks, providing a real comment for the first time today. “And such strong threats right before the tournament!”</p><p>Lilith blushes like a schoolgirl, spinning around — which pushes Luz away a few steps. Right into Amity’s embrace. <em> Thanks, Lilith, you’re the best wingMom. </em> “Yes, Camila, of course!” Then, Lilith finally processes the words and laughs. “Oh, no, no, that’s his actual nickname.”</p><p>“The Bastard?” Luz asks in wonder, while Amity nuzzles into her neck and breathes in the wonderful scent of everything that Luz is. </p><p>“Mija, language!” Camila chides with a soft, tiny smile that doesn’t really imply any chiding. “Take a look at Amity, she never swears.”</p><p>“I look at Amity all the time, ma,” Luz says, kissing Amity’s earlobe. “She’s the light of my life.”</p><p>“Uh, that’s all very sweet and mushy and so on,” comes a familiar voice from behind everyone’s backs, “but your épée is, like, ready or something.”</p><p>Lilith is the first to address the tattoo-dreamer girl. Who doesn’t even have any tattoos or piercings. And didn’t even dye her blond hair. <em> What a poser, really. </em>“Are you telling me your mother has crafted a fine weapon in half an hour?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah.” The girl blinks from under half-closed eyelids. “We don’t, like, mold it or anything. There are parts and pieces and we basically assemble them like legos. You ever play with legos?”</p><p>Lilith’s eye twitches. “Yes,” she says with deliberate calmness. “I know a thing or two… about… legos.”</p><p><em> Did she step on one? </em> Amity thinks to herself, rubbing her girlfriend’s shoulders because Amity can’t really bring herself to picture Lilith building something with plastic blocks. Unless it’s a piste. Like an actual giant piste. <em> Great, now I have this image of little Lilith and little Eda fencing on a piste… made out of legos. Ouch. </em></p><p>Everyone goes outside (Luz is still holding Amity’s hand, clasping their fingers together), and Luz takes her épée out of the bag again. “Sorry, I’m worried I didn’t get a good grip during the fitting,” she lies because everyone knows it’s been like ten minutes, and the whole ten minutes Luz was practising her grip in the tiny confines of the shop before the tattoo-loving girl suggested that they take it outside lest Luz impale anything. Or anyone.</p><p>Luz looks at the blade lovingly, and touches the still-pristine button on the tip. “A tip that hasn’t scored any points yet,” she whispers, then flicks the weapon sharply and breaks into a series of lunges. “We’ll change that soon.”</p><p>Then, Luz turns towards the group with the widest smile possible — a true, authentic Noceda smile, devoid of any residue turmoil. “Ma, I love it!”</p><p>So Camila pays, and Amity kisses Luz, and Lilith grunts a bit at the new ownership of the shop, and Luz kisses Amity, and then the four of them go get some more ice-cream, and Amity and Luz kiss some more, and all the while Luz keeps clutching her new weapon to the chest, nuzzling her cheek against the thick fabric of the bag protecting it from grime and rain.</p><p>“Are you happy?” Amity asks with a broad smile, because seeing Luz like that makes Amity truly, genuinely happy. The happiest she’s ever been.</p><p>“Well,” Luz grins, patting the fencing bag, “I have a weapon. Now all I have to do is win.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I genuinely wanted to fit both the Lumity development and the tournament into a single chapter, but it’s already over 9000 words (I know, I know…) and, if I had kept writing the tournament part, it would’ve probably ended up at over 15k words — and the release date would’ve been pushed by 2-3 more weeks or so. </p><p>Thus, I decided to add one extra chapter to this story, so there will be 11 chapters in total. The next one is the tournament (hopefully it means I will write it in more detail than I originally planned since it’s a story about fencing after all), and then one final chapter, and that’s it! (And the bloopers, but that’s something I’ll get to after completing the story~ uwu) Hope you guys are fine with an extra chapter...</p><p>What do you think? Please let me know in the comments! Your kind words and analyses and observations are always such a huge source of motivation and inspiration!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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